The Lieutenant & The Money Changer
by KMart816
Summary: James Valdez's thoughts about Teresa during Season 1 of 'Queen of the South' James/Teresa implied No beta, this is my first fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

**The Lieutenant & The Money Changer**

James POV during Season One.

Disclaimer: No money is made from this. This is for entertainment only! All of the verbal dialogue is taken directly from the episode.

Chapter One- Cuarenta Minutos (S1:E2)

I was watching the monitors and I saw Aveline collapse. Another one dead! Damn it! My fist contacts with the table. It stings, but I barely feel it. I watch them cut into her stomach to salvage as many bags as possible. Wasted money if they don't work quick. How much of my time was wasted training her?

I enter the room with authority.

The Charger looks up at me. "22," is all he tells me.

I have to see if I can salvage anymore. I roll up my sleeve and reach into Aveline's stomach and search for a moment before I come back bloody, but with one more bag. "23." I say as I head toward the sink to clean the dead mule's blood from my hand. That's the only way I can think about Aveline without showing my emotions.

To add to my problems. I find out that Camilla's new obsession, Teresa, ran. I know she is busy right now, but Camilla needs to know. A quick text is all that's necessary. 'Teresa tried to run"

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I join Camilla in the 'hall' near Teresa's cell to inform her of the shit going on right now.

"How many have we lost?" She is upset, understandably.

"We lost two bags." I respond.

Camilla asks the question that has be plaguing us for a while now. "Why do they keep bursting?"

The charger blames my chemist. "It's the new chemist. He still doesn't know what is happening. You know?"

"Why are you calling him the new chemist? He's the old chemist now." Camilla turns to me. "And since you found him, you tell him."

I give a curt nod in reply but I don't verbalize a reply, afraid of incurring her wrath in front of everyone.

"Han's plane is leaving soon. Have you thought of a way of delivering to him?" Camilla asks.

"No. Not yet. I mean, this basically happened now." Charger responds.

I look at him. "Let's figure it out. Fast."

"Yeah." Is all he tells me.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

Camilla enters the cell and talks to Epifanio on the phone while Teresa listens. Camilla can't understand Epifanio's obsession with the girl, but she knows Teresa can be useful on many fronts. I tune out the conversation in the cell to discuss ideas with the idiots in front of me. I tune back in when I hear Camilla say to us in Spanish "Drug her up and put her to work."

Is it really necessary? I see Teresa panic. She a pretty Hispanic girl curly black hair that reaches just past her shoulders with milk chocolate eyes. She just wants to live. I see it in those damn brown orbs. She'll do anything to ensure that. Camilla seems to notice this too and stops her goons before they inject her.

Teresa refuses to answer Camilla's questions. I see her go to leave and I think I might actually need to intervene, even though that is not my position.

Before I could say anything, Teresa shouts to her, "Wait!" A pause and Camilla actually turns around to look at Teresa. Teresa continues "I can be more for you. I'll deliver the drugs." I shift positions near the wall, uncomfortable with her suggestion. Not what I expected! Is she stupid? Didn't she hear our conversation? The bags keep bursting!

"I heard what you said." Okay so she did hear. Then why is she so willing to die!

"I'll deliver the drugs that your mule didn't."

Camilla seems impressed by her offer, but need to check her sincerity. Is she saying it to save herself or is she serious? "Well, if you heard us, you know there's problems with the balloons. The police as much as we know what they're doing, they know what we're doing. They can stop the car you're in."

"I said I'll do it." Teresa responds quietly and seriously.

We leave the cell. Camilla tells me to "Get her prepped."

I can't help but fire back and show the same concern she did a moment a go in a hushed tone. "What's the point? She'll just die too."

"Don't worry about her. Better her than the girl you spent months training."

Don't placate me woman! Yeah, I'm pissed that Aveline is dead, but "I don't care about her. I care about getting those drugs to Han. But if she dies first, what's the point?"

"You hired a chemist you shouldn't have, not me." Now Camilla's anger is evident and directed at me as she continues to hiss. "So you don't have another choice but to drive faster, now, do you? Han is an important client. He gets his shipment. And you? You can take comfort in knowing you had no choice."

God damn it! I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. We can't keep losing mules, but we need to keep clients like Han! Camilla walks away while I'm processing our conversation.

I see Teresa being led away to get ready and I glare at her from a distant. If she saw it, she didn't acknowledge it.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I hold up the camera and tell her to "look at me." I snap a quick picture. "You're gonna need a passport." Is all I tell her as I walk away to prep the documents. I enter the room again and she has begun swallowing the balloons. She's a champ. I try not to stare at her, but it proves difficult when all I can think of is the chances of her being the next dead girl.

"Seventeen" I count as she places it in her mouth. "Eighteen." She coughs. "Keep going. Before we know it she has number twenty- two down. "Just one more." I encourage her with a tone that still sounds like I'm ordering her to keep the promise she made.

"Now, that's 23. Don't drink or eat anything else until they come up, okay?" The Charger says.

"The plane leaves in about 40 minutes." I give her one more chance to back out. "You understand they could dissolve before then?"

She doesn't offer a response.

We head toward the exit, Camilla picks up Teresa's papers and hands them to me. A medallion is still in her hands. "You were carrying this when they found you." Teresa stares at it for a moment, but then looks back up at Camilla. "It's the only thing you had. The patron saint Malverde. Does it give you faith? Comfort?"

I watch the exchange with furrowed eyebrows, but stay quiet.

"You're gonna need it. Go." And we are off.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I'm in the driver's seat and drive as fast as I can. As we make a turn, her eyes apparently caught the cross hanging from the rearview mirror. "You're religious? That's a laugh."

Just when I compliment her intelligence she says something stupid! "I'm not religious. Whoever they stole this car from is." I respond. I start quizzing her on the passport information so she knows it. "What's your name?" I ask her without any segue as I zig and zag through the Dallas traffic.

"Teresa." Really! I meant her full name. "Teresa what?" I continue my interrogation

"Garcia."

"Address?"

"2414"

No! We have less than forty minutes to make it to the airport and deliver the shipment. We don't have time for this! "7714 Elms Avenue! 77. Study the passport. What's your name?"

"Teresa Garcia."

"Address? Address?"

"7714 Elms Avenue."

"You know driving like a pendejo's not gonna help, right?"

Don't question my driving. I'm trying to keep you alive! "I get there. This is how we do it."

We make a right and I turn to look over my shoulder to make sure no one is following us. When I look back the light is red and there are three idiots in the cross work! "Shit!" I yell as I slam on the brakes. As soon as they are out of my way, I take off again. I sneak a peek at her after I make a left at that light. She looks fine, but I have to hear it from her. "How do you feel? Answer me."

"I don't know."

That's not an answer! I'm going the wrong way on the road, but time is counting down! "If you start feeling numb, tell me."

I make a left and I hit the brakes again, not quite as rough as last time. "Shit!" I hiss. Fucking road work! I hear the worker yell "Can't go through here! The road is closed! It's closed! Can't go through! They're closed here." Cars are closing in on me. "We're never gonna make it." I say realistically.

"We are gonna make it."

See there's that stupidity again! "You've got ten minutes." I finally turn in the seat to face her and I remove my sunglasses, as I realize the shipment won't make it but I can at least keep her alive. "Okay, listen to me. You're not gonna have time."

"No. Drive."

A mule is giving me orders! Hell no! "Throw that shit up now. You're out of time." Please I don't want to lose another one!

"I am not gonna throw it up!"

So stubborn. I love it! Wait, what did I just say? To cover my surprise of my thoughts, I hiss at her. "You're not gonna make it. Throw it up." We are arguing at this point. I've seen the consequences I need to be the voice of reason!

"I am doing this."

Still she fights me. "I'll make you." I say as I reach for her jaw, but my hands end up on her wrists. I'm doing what I need to in order to protect at least one of Camilla's assets.

"Just get off me, you asshole! Drive!"

I'm still gripping her wrist when I try one more tactic. "That wasn't the first girl who died."

She pauses and looks at me like I might have actually found the sore spot for her. "Okay?" I try to confirm if my suspicions are correct. "And I'm not having that again."

"Well, then, I'm gonna die too, because I'm not gonna throw that shit up."

How stupid is she? I glare at her, but she continues her speech anyway.

"So you better put your car in gear, and you better get me to the airport on time. I am doing this job. Drive."

I'm still glaring at her for a moment, before I give up reasoning with this stubborn woman. I turn back to the wheel and put my sunglasses on again. I turn to look at her profile one last time "You're gonna die." I sigh and I start driving again!

I am finally close. The light is red, but I don't even slow down as I drive straight through.

"Airport! Airport!" Teresa yells at me pointing to the right.

"I know where I'm going." I go to pass a silver pickup on the left and I hear the metal crunch on my side as a SUV T-Bones us. I pause for a moment to catch my bearings. I realize we have to finish this running. I unhook my seat belt and get out of the car. Teresa follows my lead, thank god! I grab our 'luggage' out of the back seat through the window and begin moving.

I see our finally turn, the entrance to check in. "Follow me." I say as I'm still jogging.

We are still running until I see a self-check in. I type our information in faster than I thought possible and our boarding passes print. We take off again!

We reach security. Time to make us seem like a normal couple and not a lieutenant and a mule.

"Next." The TSA agent waives us to the desk.

"Whew! See? We made it." I look at her as I speak. I turn back to the TSA agent and chuckle "Man, she's always so last minute." The agent doesn't care, but it helps our story if I continue so I do. "You know, I told her three hours before, and I get there and then she's still packing." He hands us our passports and passes back. "Thanks." I say as I move to the metal detectors. I put the bag on the belt and I start to prep for the detector. I look at her and nod my head to move in front of me.

She's looking around as they run the wand over her. I rub my face. We need to get through the check point so we can finish this disaster.

Finally, he says the magic word: "Okay."

I move through the detector and she is worried, I see it as she waits for me. The dog is making her nervous. The agent waves me to my belongings. I nod for her to follow me and she does. So she can be trained. We are running again. I slow down as we approach a corridor. I see one of ours walk away from a door and as we slowly pass, I look up and he gives me the signal that he opened the door for us.

We start to pass the bathrooms on our way and she pulls my arm for the ladies' room, but I stop her. "No. That's not where we go." I pull her slightly before I open a door that reads 'Authorized Personal Only'

I turn on the light and shut the door, she is at the sink with her pretty manicured fingers down her throat. "Come on. Get it out of you" I tell her.

She's coughing and gagging while I look for a container to wash the balloons off in. I finally find a 'Maxwell House' coffee can that I empty and turn on the water in the sink. I pick up the ones that have successfully come up and I rinse them. I silently count them as I drop them in the can. No more have come up. We are three short. I encourage her "Three more! Come on."

"Shit. I can't."

What do you mean? We have twenty. "They're starting to dissolve." I tell her. "Come on, Teresa!"

"I can't."

That's not a good answer choice. "Come on. You have to. Three more. Come on! Three more. Come on. Three more." Nothing! "Throw that shit up, now."

"I can't."

Guess I need to be more persuasive. I spot the spot the soap dispenser. I remove the bottle "Here." I pull her back from the sink and squirt the soap in her mouth. Finally, she retches. "There you go. Yeah." I say as I rinse the two of the final three balloons. She's trying to get the soap out, but I'm focused on the coke. She steps back from the sink and picks the third and final bag up. I dump the can into a baggie. She hands me the balloon she has. I add it to the baggie and place it in the duffle I have been carrying.

She's panting as she tells me "We're good."

I turn toward her and want to say something to comfort her, but we don't have time and it's not appropriate right now.

We begin walking back through the airport. I have the duffle on my left shoulder and my jacket in my right hand. Teresa is following, but is behind me on my right. Han is in a khaki raincoat. We make eye contact for a second and he moves from his spot on the wall and slips the duffel off my shoulder onto his with practiced ease. For once, Teresa is smart if she is unsure of what just happened she says nothing. I put my leather coat back on as we hit the escalator to leave from a surprisingly successful shipment.

When we are outside again, I hail a taxi since our stolen car was hit and we left it in the middle of the intersection.

We're in the taxi and she asks one question, just not the one I expected. "How did you know about the soap thing?"

I pause thinking of the answer I want to tell her; I decide to tell the truth. I'm rarely honest like this. I don't know if it is because I don't know her or if I care about more that I want to, "When I was a kid, I was trying to ditch school. I drank half a bottle. Never did it again."

I expected something vocal from her, but for once she is quiet as a mouse. I look at her. I decided I didn't know what to say. The rest of the ride was spent silent.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I enter Camilla's club office. She seems distracted, but I speak anyway. Here we can be honest. "Hey. She did it." I say as I take a seat in the chair in front of her desk after her nod it was okay.

I pull out my cigarettes and rub a hand over my face to help wipe away the stress from today.

"Epifanio agreed to our terms." Camilla says as I light a cigarette.

"You don't seem pleased about that." I say noting her indecisiveness.

I watch her as she looks back up at me. "I just don't think he would concede so easily."

"Well, maybe he's reaching out." I offer as I play with the cigarette in my hand, rolling it slightly. "Maybe it's his way of making peace."

"Or maybe he doesn't think I'm gonna be here next year."

I take a drag off of my cig to process that thought. Before I can respond to that statement, she segues to the other topic of interest, hers and Epifanio's. Mine too if I'm honest with myself. How is one tiny curvy Hispanic girl causing so much stress.

"You know, this Mendoza girl? Keep an eye on her."

I pull a second cig out and light it. I have to be careful to guard how I respond to Camilla's ideas about Teresa. Since, I don't know how I feel about her.

"I think she might be more useful than I thought. I want you to talk to her. You need to get her to trust you. Tell her, if she's thinking of running away, she shouldn't. If she's thinking of going to the police, they will send her to the ICE, and they'll ship her right back to Mexico. And sooner rather than later, my husband will find her. Tell her, if she wants to die, she should run. If she wants to live, she should stay with me."

I sit relaxed in the chair taking a drag of the cigarette in my hand so that I can act nonchalant about the topic. I need to think about how I feel on the topic. Camilla walks out while I'm deep in thought. She doesn't mention my distraction other than a quick hand on my left arm. I remain seated and think while I finish my cig.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own this! I'm not making money, so don't sue.

Author's Note: Sorry, it has been so long since the first chapter. I was unsure if I should continue, but with the season two (2) premiere arriving soon I figured I would write as I did a re-watch. Reviews please my soul. *Nudge Nudge Wink Wink*

Chapter Two: Estrategia de Entrada

When I enter the 'room' where Teresa is now staying she is sitting on the bed legs crossed staring off into space. She looks like a queen even in this dingy makeshift room. I stop in what appear to be her line of sight, but I don't know if she even sees me. My hands tell a lot of my emotions and I can't stop them right now. My hands form a fist and relax and then the process repeats over and over again. I'm nervous. She's feisty and it makes me uncomfortable to be around her. I like her and this world is going to get her killed. I don't even get a chance to properly put my thoughts together before she speaks.

"Thank you…for putting me here." She says. No change in her tone of voice or posture to give me any indication as to what is really going on inside that pretty little head of hers.

I don't know what to say in response since that is really Camila's doing so instead I address the other mules. "Tina, Julie, get dressed. Savings Club." They jump to do as I say.

"Am I doing something today?" She asks innocently. I turn my attention back to her after checking my watch. I look at her not sure what to make of her.

"Come with me." I say as I reach to grab her from the bed. She meets me in a standing position. I move her using her arm to guide her until she is against the chain link fence of the 'room.' "I don't know how much shit you're in, but I know what you're trying to do." I star her down and she doesn't seem intimidated. She is fearless which is very dangerous.

"And what I am doing?" She questions me.

"You're trying to ingratiate yourself with Camila. But the second that you become valuable to her, the second she takes an interest in you, it's gonna be harder for you to get out. So be careful." I step away from her as I finish my warning.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asked me after I had already turned away from her.

"So you did a good job. She was impressed. Just do small things when you're asked. She'll get bored of you." It is my hope that she heads my requests, but she probably won't just to spite me. I head out to meet the girls.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I am exiting the building with Tina and Julie when my phone starts vibrating. I see Camila is calling. I stop to answer. "Yeah?"

"Why aren't you at Savings Club?" She asks me.

"I'm on my way." I reply trying not to be annoyed that she is treating me like a minion that needs direction.

"Okay." A pause. "Takes Teresa."

"Why would I do that?" I ask as my brow furrows.

"I want your opinion on her. I want you to dig deeper"

"I appreciate that." That isn't a lie. "But she's got no experience. I can't take the risk." That's one reason she shouldn't come, but the bigger issue is I want to move Camila's attention from Teresa.

"It's important to me." This is her way of begging me.

"Just like staying out of jail or not getting killed is to me." Also, not a lie. "She has no idea what she is doing."

"James." That shuts me up. "I want her to trust you. You're good at that. It's not an option."

"Okay." Damn. I'm not getting out of this. I give up. Teresa is fully on Camila's radar and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I hang up the phone and let out a quick sigh. I turn around and head back in to grab Teresa. I have no idea if the girls followed or not and I don't really care.

I enter the cage and without preamble. "Camila wants you to go with us. Come on. See what I mean?"

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

We pull into a spot at the Savings Club. I turn the SUV off and Teresa has her seatbelt off and is ready to get out of the car. "You stay here." I unbuckle my seatbelt and wait until the girls are standing by the back of the car. I pause for a short moment before reaching into my inside coat pocket and grab a cell phone. I turn to Teresa. "This is your cell phone now. If anything happens—you see something strange, something makes you feel weird, some dude walks past with his dog twice, you call. There's a preset number."

"What's going on in there?"

"You said you wanted a job. So you got it." And I get out of the car.

The girls and I enter the Savings Club and head to the area where Bill is. I wave the girls off right as I approach him. He seems upset over the phone call he just had. "Don't look at me like that, Bill." I say as I pull a notebook out of my coat pocket. "I'm not your wife." I joke with him.

"All good, James?" He asks me. He doesn't seem as upset.

"Better than you, it seems."

"Yeah." He sighs.

And we move our business to the loading dock.

I cut into the box with my knife. Baby wipes boxes are present. I pop the top of one and a brick is present. I stick my pinky in and get a small amount on there and take a quick taste. I close the large cardboard box up as I check to make sure I haven't aroused suspicion. I notice an employee I don't recognize. My eyes linger on him, but he is focused on his work.

Bill comes over then. "Good to go?"

I use my knife to point. "Who's that?" I don't like this.

Bill turns to see who I referring to. "That's Keegan. He's always here."

"No, he's not."

"Yes." He laughs slightly. "Chill. He just got promoted from produce. He's been here coming up on two years now"

I glare at Keegan before I turn my gaze on Bill but I say nothing. I move around to the outside of the docks to get into the driver's seat.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I'm in the driver's seat of the truck headed out of the parking lot when I see Teresa standing in the lot rubbing her wrist. If I asked her what was going on she wouldn't hear me, so I raise my hands in questioning. No answer so I pantomime her getting into the truck.

We are driving to our destination. She told me what happened, well she questioned me about it. "I didn't even know that was going to happen." And I actually didn't, but I'm not surprised. "The thing you need to understand is that's who she is. And the second you think you know where you're at, the ground shifts underneath you. I told you, be careful. Now you know what I mean. The last time I'm gonna talk about this." I feel like a broken record. I stop the truck and take off my sunglasses. We are here. I look around for my contact. We catch each other's eye. Good.

I'm stressed. Between Camila's obsession with Teresa, Epifanio and Camila's pissing match, Teresa being Teresa, and my normal duties I can't seem to catch a break.

"Who's that guy with the hose?" And there is my inquisitive little annoyance. "The one you just nodded to?"

I pause to think if I should bother answering her annoying questions. Might as well. Camila isn't going to get bored anytime soon. "We own him. If I ever see him watering his plants, and he doesn't stop by the time I get there, I keep driving."

She doesn't say a word to that.

A moment of silence passes. I am thankful for it, no matter how short. "There's our buyer." I say as I see Lopez outside of the truck headed toward us. I move the truck toward our meeting site. I park on the road and unbuckle, so does Teresa. "What are you doing?"

"I want to meet him." She says like it is the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, you don't want to meet him. If he sees your face, he knows you. She knows you know him. See how that works?" Will she ever fucking listen to me?

"If I know too much, I'm indispensable. If I know too little, I'm disposable." Apparently not.

We glare at each other. "Did you listen to a word I said?" We glare a bit longer before I break the contest and exit the truck. Sadly, with Teresa following. I put my sunglasses back on before heading into the lot to meet with Lopez.

"Lopez." I say in greeting as I shake his hand.

"Who's she?" Lopez asks me. Boy, don't I wish I knew the answer to that.

"She's new. She's running with me."

"I don't like 'new,' James. I like faces I know. Where's Aveline?"

I wince at his question, but I nod as he speaks understanding his concerns as I just voiced them earlier about the guy as the Savings Club. "She O.D.'d"

"Shame." He crosses his arms. "I don't like this."

You and me both, Pal. "Look, if you have a problem, take it up with Camila. I can sell this load someplace else." I am trying to remain calm, but Camila will not be happy if I come back without making this sale. This would have been so much easier if Teresa would just fucking listen.

Lopez glares down at Teresa. "All right. You vouch for her? You take responsibility for her."

Not my idea of a win, but win went out the window when Teresa didn't stay in the truck like I asked her too. My head droops slightly. Woah. Crisis averted for now.

I back the truck up to be unloaded. "Keep your mouth shut in here." We enter auto service center where our deal is occurring. I open the back of the truck and pull the box I previously opened to the edge of the truck. I pull out a box of wipes and we head toward the office.

Lopez carefully measures a sample and then tests for purity.

"Ninety percent pure." He's please.

"There's a hundred kilos as promised. I just need to check the money and we can all go home." He's nods his permission.

One of Lopez's men pulls out a large silver suitcase and places it on the table. I move to the table and open the case to inspect the money. I flip through a couple random stacks then pull two bills out of a stack and inspect those bills individually and against each other. All looks well. "All right. Let's wrap it up."

"Let's unload." Lopez tells his men.

I'm ready to zip up the case and Teresa stops me with one word. "Wait."

"Why?" I ask with some annoyance.

"Can I see the money?" She asks quietly. What is her game here?

I turn around. "Is there a problem?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Something feels off. Can I see it?"

I think for a moment and decide to give her the benefit of the doubt. I open the lid to the suitcase again and pull a stack out and hand it to her. I watch as she fingers every bill in the stack until she pulls one out. She flips it over and fingers it closer. "This one is fake. They're ripping you off. All U.S. money paper weighs a gram. This one is too light."

I take the bill back from her and inspect it again. "I don't see it."

She informs me it isn't all about sight. We have other senses. "You don't see it, you feel it. The difference between a real one and a fake is the paper."

"Are you sure?" I challenge her.

"I was a money changer for five years in Sinaloa. My life depended on it."

"It still does." I tell her with all seriousness. "You accuse these men of cheating us and it's a mistake?" I don't finish my treat since she interrupts me.

"In Sinaloa…" She pushes her hair back from the right side of her forehead and a thick red scar can be seen. "You don't make a mistake with your bosses' money. I spent five weeks in the hospital. I'll never make that mistake again."

A moment of silence passes and before I can respond to the bombshell she just dropped, Lopez makes an appearance.

"Hey. Something the matter?" He seems worried.

I look at the stack Teresa found the 'fake' in and clear my throat. I make my decision. I decide to trust her. "I'm gonna need to weigh this bill."

"You think I'm cheating you?" Lopez is angry.

"I don't know. But the girl thinks the bill is fake." I place blame on Teresa. I hate it, but it helps our relationship with Lopez. I move toward the scale, "So, then you won't mind if I weigh it. Just to be safe."

"You're embarrassing me."

I prep to weigh the Benjamin that will cement Teresa's future.

"If she's wrong, I demand reparations." I hear a gun cock. I look up. Lopez has a gun pointed at her. I straighten up ready to say something or even intervene. I look to Teresa. I can talk us out of this if she wishes to back down.

"Weigh the bill. It'll be less than a gram." She is either certain or wants to die. Which one, I am truly not sure.

The bill settles on the scale. 0.798 gram reads clearly as day, not the one gram I so desperately wanted to see.

Lopez reads the scale as well never moving the gun from Teresa. "That doesn't make sense."

I look up at him. "Let's try it again." Turning my gaze to Teresa I tell her to "find me another one."

She looks scared and slightly annoyed that I am still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but does what I ask. She finds one in the first stack she picks up. "Here's another one." She hands it to me.

I look at her worried as I take the bill. I place it on the scale. 0.778. SHIT! I pull my gun from my waistband. "Are you ripping me off, Lopez? Huh?"

"No, no." He says backing away from me.

"Are you ripping me off? I repeat the question as I grab his lapel and have my gun against his chest.

"It wasn't me, I swear! How do we know you didn't put it in there when we went to get the coke? No, James, Lucian's the other one that I let handle the money besides me."

Lucian tries to defend himself. "No, no, no, I've been working for you for almost nine months, Mr. Lopez. You know me. I never cheated you. Hey, you want to check my house? Here, take the damn keys." I still have the gun trained on Lopez, but Lucian is pissing me off. "I have never stolen from anyone in my life, ever.

"Don't check his house, check his car. I knew a man who his car" Teresa breaks the scene and I focus on her voice to hear what she says, but I don't take my eyes off Lopez. "'cause then he wouldn't have to collect it when he had to run. Check his car."

I break my silence. "Check it." I command Lopez. "Check every inch."

I watch as the mechanic begins a search for the money.

"Ah, lookie here." The mechanic says as several stacks of cash fall from the underbelly of the car. I should be pleased that Teresa saved my ass, but this finding means our relationship with Lopez is damaged. Camila won't like this. I hate being the bearer of bad news like this.

Lopez stares are the money for several moments before turning to me and asking "What can we do to make this right?"

I pause before turning to Teresa. She found the theft so I let her decide punishment. "He stole from us. What do you think we should do?"

She gives a small shake of her head and I know she doesn't understand why I am asking her opinion. I'm not sure I understand why I am asking. I have made it clear I don't want her involved more than Camila commands.

"Nothing. Just let him go." She is confident that he should be left free.

I sigh. "That's the wrong answer." I turn back to Lopez and tell him with a look that I will heed the girl's word, but I can't stop him from handling his thief his way.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

Back in the truck there is an uncomfortable silence.

It is Teresa that breaks the silence, "What will they do to him?" She is scared so I know she knows the answer. Her boyfriend suffered the same fate.

"It's already done." I don't want to talk about this.

"Where are you going? This is not the way to the warehouse."

Fucking duh. Why does she ask so many questions? Questions are dangerous. "Camila wants to see you."

Silence again and our drive finishes that way.

When we arrive at the club, I pull the suitcases out of the truck and head inside. Once inside, I drop the cases and make myself scarce upstairs. I head back down the stairs when I hear the end is nearing in their conversation.

"Keep it as a part of the debt I owe you for bring me here." She's uncomfortable with Camila. Honestly, even I am uncomfortable around her sometimes. Teresa catches my eye. "I'm tired. Can I go?" She sounds bored, but it is a defense mechanism. I use it too.

"I'll have James take you home." I nod silently. I'm hunched over. I feel like I am intruding.

"This is not my home." She stares me down. She blames me. For what? I have no idea.

"Teresa, when life gave you a choice about what to do with the man that stole from us, you chose mercy. That was the wrong choice. Women in this business, we cannot afford to look weak. Don't ever make that mistake again."

Their conversation is over. Finally. I incline my head to Teresa to inform her it is time to leave. We ride back to the warehouse in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Still don't own this! I'm not making money, so don't sue.

Author's Note: No Beta so I apologize for any errors. Reviews please my soul. *Nudge Nudge Wink Wink*

Chapter Three: Lirio de los Valles

I walk into the bathroom and silently search for Teresa. I find her, sitting on the toilet. I don't move closer, but she feel me looking at her.

"I'm trying to pee." She says, like I couldn't see that.

I don't acknowledge her statement. "I want to show you something."

We head toward the room where deliveries are packaged. The tell the girl to hand over a bottle of 'cooking oil' to Teresa so she can see how we hide our packages. She stares at it confused and the girl is annoyed, but opens the bottle at the cut midway down it and shows the brick of coke inside. She starts prepping Teresa's delivery. I remain silent during the exchange.

"It's your first delivery alone." I pause to let that the reality sink in, but she apparently isn't a morning person, because she just continues to look confused. "You're moving up in the world."

We grab her bag and head to her 'new' car. I start texting on my phone to send her the addresses for the two deliveries.

I hear the whoosh from her phone stating she got the message I sent. I grab her phone from her. That gets her attention.

"Here's where you're going. I've texted you both deliveries. These are the addresses. The first one is Sandra. She's expecting you."

And she stopped paying attention.

"You deliver; you bring the money back to Camila's club." I point to an address on the phone. "It's this one."

She turns back to the phone

"Okay?"

She takes the phone back so I assume she understands.

"You do not stop on your journey. That's how you get robbed or killed. I don't care if you hit something" We reach her car. A red, well mostly red Honda. One panel on the driver's side is grey. "A cat, a dog, a priest. You do not stop. Is that clear?"

She doesn't talk or nod, but I assume she hears me since she glares at me.

I hand her a screwdriver and open the door. "Here's the key. You might have to pump the gas a few times to start it." Shutting the door, I give my final warning to her as she buckles her seatbelt. "If you get busted, you say nothing. You just give them this card. It's a lawyer. You don't say anything."

She responds for the first time since I walking in on her trying to take a piss. "I think I've proven that already."

"Yeah, and it's been proven to me that people need reminding." People have short term memory loss when it comes to protecting themselves. I lean down to look at her with my arms on the open window track. "So, remember what I've been telling you. You've been given a job to do. So be smart, and don't even think about running. I guarantee you that shit will not work." My phone starts ringing. It's Camila. I tap my hand on the window track as a way to tell her she is good to go, before walking away to answer the phone. "Yeah. She's leaving now."

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I enter Camila's office at the club and she is sitting at her desk while on the phone.

"If you gave me more information, maybe I could help?" She asks the caller.

I am confused for a moment before I realize it must be Epifanio or Batman.

I don't hear the response on the other end. Then my cell phone rings.

It's Teresa.

"Yeah?"

"James? It's Teresa." She sounds worried.

"What's wrong?" This was a simple delivery.

The next voice I hear isn't a lovely soft Mexican voice, but Sandra's confident one. "Hey, James. This is Sandra. Yeah, we got some issues over here. Your girl's okay. They tried to hang us. But the rope broke."

"What's the damage?" I ask in my normal tone of voice, but inside I'm annoyed. Damn it!

"One dead asshole, one 'bout-to-be-dead asshole. But you need to get over here now."

I turn to Camila to get her attention and she is still on the phone. "Hold on." She tells the voice. "What's happening?"

"I'm on my way." I tell Sandra before hanging up to address Camila. "We've got a problem." I exit her office and head toward my SUV. I know Camila will follow me, but I don't wait.

I hop into my car and speed over to Sandra's.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

My tires screech as I pull up to a stop in front of Sandra's place.

I enter the house with my gun in my hand and Sandra is holding a revolver in her hand leaning against the counter. I eye her warily. Don't fuck with Sandra. I see the 'dead asshole on her side of the table in the middle of the kitchen. On the other side is the ''bout to be dead asshole. "This one alive, Sandy?" I ask her as I place my weapon back in the waistband of my jeans.

"He was a minute ago." She states simply meaning she did what is expected and didn't touch him before we have a chance to talk to him.

I give him a good kick to the mouth with my right boot. Blood sputters from his mouth and he groans. "Yeah, still alive."

Camila enters the quaint little house looking so out of place as she surveys the damage. Her eyes then fall to Teresa. "Are you hurt?"

Teresa is leaning against the other counter arms crossed trying to appear tough as she shakes her head in the negative.

I move out of Camila's way so she squat down before the 'still alive asshole.' "Who gave you the confidence to do this?" She asks with no emotion present. If I didn't know Camila, I would definitely be nervous right now.

"No one." She coughs out.

"You're bleeding so bad, you cannot even lie properly." She scoffs at his lie. "Is it Eric from Jimenez cartel? The Bird Man? Was it him?"

Oh fuck! I bet it was the idiot Bird Man. I really want to eliminate that douche.

The guy coughs again.

"It's okay." She says as she stands up. Her black and red dress smoothing out over her body. "We'll get that sorted out."

Finally, she is giving me permission to take him out. I gather Teresa's bag and hand it to her. The sooner I get Teresa moving, the sooner we can discuss taking out Bird Man. "You got another drop-off."

But of course, Camila is still obsessed with Teresa. "No. Send someone else. She's had enough for today."

I nod my acknowledgement to Camila like a good soldier.

"You go back to the club now." She tells Teresa.

I take Teresa's bag and place it on the counter.

"Sandra, turn on the stove." Camila states calmly with one final look at the idiot laying on the floor coughing blood.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I stand in a dirt clearing as Camila approaches me. Now she really does look out of place. She really doesn't need to be here, but since she is, I ask her opinion of the spot we are in. "So, what do you think? Good?"

"Desolate."

Yes, it is. That's why I picked here.

"This place is as good as any." She gives me the okay. So, I give the signal to unload the two bodies so they can be truly disposed of.

I walk toward the front of the SUV. My job here is done.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I lean over Camila's desk, staring intently at the surveillance footage. "I'll find her." I state simply. I can't lose her. For many reasons. One, Camila likes her. Two, I can't have her training go to waste. Three, I like her spunk.

Camila is too relaxed. "You don't need to."

I stare at her. She doesn't want me to find her prized pet.

"I know where she'll be. He's taking her to Culiacan, to my husband."

She should still be worried. If Epifanio gets ahold of her, Camila loses this war, but… "There's only one highway to get back to Mexico."

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

We are sitting in the Camila's office above the club. Music is pulsing in the background. I hear Teresa groan. She is awake.

"I've seen a lot of girls in my time who are trouble." I say around the cigarette between my lips. "And you…" I remove the cig to exhale a stream of smoke. I lean closer to her. "are trouble."

She shrugs her shoulders uncomfortable with my observations.

So, I change the subject slightly. "Did you see what he hit you with?" It is a serious question. Whatever he used is good. Camila's troopers woke her up at the stop about 90 minutes from Mexico and it isn't a short journey back to the club. She slept the whole journey they said.

She shakes her head to answer my question.

"Got to get me one of those." I say half joking before taking another drag of my cigarette.

"You know, you were lucky today. If Camila didn't have a few state troopers on her payroll…" I let my thought trail off, hoping she understands the seriousness behind my statements.

"What is she gonna do with Batman?" She asks. Why does she care? He tazzed and kidnapped her for the man who is obsessed with her for a reason he won't share with the rest of the class.

"That's between them." And it is. Camila has a plan. I don't need to know it to play my part. I have been trying to explain to her that the less you are involved the easier it is to escape, but that doesn't seem like an option anymore, so instead I decide to play on that big heart she has for others. I roll my cigarette between my fingers. "Between us, I've got a plan for a future, and it doesn't include getting killed by crossfire meant for you." I recline back into my seat. "Don't expect to get lucky again."

She straightens her posture a bit after my last statement; it must have sunk in a little bit. "Where can I get ice? Or not.

"Ice machine's down the hall." I turn the chair away from her slightly. She is stubborn, hard headed, and hopeless.

She stares me down for a few seconds, which I ignore, before going to grab her ice.

I move to sit on the back of a couch overlooking the club, lost in thought.

A few moments pass and Teresa returns with the ice in a rag. She sits with her legs crossed staring into space when Camila enters the room.

"You can go now." She dismisses her.

"You saved my life."

I look over to the women.

"Thank you."

Camila acknowledges her with a small nod.

"Why?" Good question. I wait with my arms crossed for Camila's answer.

"I have my reasons."

Teresa deflates at the non-answer she just received.

"Go get some rest." The second dismissal.

This one Teresa seems to understand. Why does she listen to Camila and not me?

"I still think it's a mistake." I say as Camila grabs her stuff of the desk. She turns to me, waiting to hear what I have to say. I stand up to face her uncrossing my arms. "We should've given her back to Epifanio in the first place." As much I like her spunk, she is dangerous to our organization. If Epifanio is truly this enamored by her there is definitely more to the story.

"Not all cards are meant to be played at once. She has a purpose. Her time will come."

Sometimes, I wonder why I bother to talk when no one listens. I am Camila's second for a reason, and yet my suggestions mean nothing. So, I change the subject. "And Batman?" I move closer to her. "I mean, do you really think you can trust him?" He is Epifanio's second. He's just like me.

"I don't know. But I'll be ready if it turns out I can't." She says quietly before exiting the office.

I pause and let that statement sink in before following Camila. I don't need to know the plan to be effective, it just helps.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Queen of the South- Still don't own it! Just borrowing the characters for a little fun. I'm not making money, so don't sue.

Author's Note: No Beta so I apologize for any errors. Reviews please my soul. *Nudge Nudge Wink Wink*

Author's Note Two (2): The season premiere Thursday was great. I see so much fic potential this season already, and I sense a loyalty change from James in the coming future.

Chapter Four: Un Alma. Un Mapa. A Futuro

Teresa lays on her right side looking around, while the covers are still at the foot of the bed. I shake my head slightly at the sight. I know when she realizes I am there because she scrubs a hand over her face and sits up.

"What time is it?"

"It's almost 3:00" I pause slightly "P.M." I punctuate that statement. "Get up. Come with me." I'm not just here to visit 'cause I'm bored. We have shit to do.

"Where?" Of course, she wants to know. Why can't she just do what she is told.

"I'm going to kill someone."

She is confused, but I walk away before she can ask more questions.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

We are in my car driving towards my townhouse, when she speaks again.

"Who are you going to kill?" She asks.

I feel her eyes on me awaiting an answer. I ignore her, but that doesn't stop her.

"If you're gonna do that, I should know what's going on."

She really doesn't need to know. Her job is to learn. "You'll find out when you need to know." I pull up in front of my place.

"Listen to me, I'm not doing this."

I can hear desperation in her voice, but I don't stop my escape from the car.

"Hey!" She tries to get my attention, but I'm crossing the road. She catches up to me on the other side. "Listen, I'm not killing anyone." She grabs my arm. She's put her metaphorical foot down.

Fine. Two can play. "I said I'm. I'm killing someone." I point to myself to emphasize my point. "Not you, and not here." Why would she think the kill would happen here? "Although in this house, there's someone I'd like to kill at times." And it is true. I love Kim, but she is stubborn and hardheaded and that spells trouble. Just like the pesky little chica in front of me. "Come on."

As we walk up the stairs, I hear the TV is on. It is on that shopping channel. I don't know why she watches it. I buy her better shit than those assholes sell.

"Hey, babe." I say as I round the corner from the stairs, placing my sunglasses in my coat pocket.

She turns her red head toward my voice and a smile lights up her face. "You didn't say you were coming home, so I didn't order any food." She says simply.

I lean over the back of the couch and give her a kiss. We both moan happily at that small example of PDA. "I'm not here, really. I just need one of your dresses."

"A dress?" She laughs as I grab some grapes to snack on.

"Turn around." I point and make introductions. "Kim, Teresa. Teresa, Kim."

"Hi." Kim greets her.

Teresa is nervous, but is still polite. I think she is surprised by Kim and my place. Which one surprises her more, I'm not sure. "Hi."

"What do you need a dress for?" Kim asks making conversation.

"Work." I answer for Teresa.

She turns to me then back to Teresa. "All right, well, come on." And walks toward the stairs.

"Make it a high-end dress. A nice one." I say as Kim passes me leading the way to the stairs and subsequently her closet.

I see the end of Teresa's eye roll, she doesn't say anything surprisingly.

"This way, sweetheart." Kim says sweetly.

Teresa is quiet, but glares at me the whole time she walks past me.

While the girls search for a dress, I head to the closet to grab my rifle. I lay it on the kitchen counter and open it for inspection. Everything is there, so I close up the case and sit it by the stairs to the door.

"Come on! Are you choosing a dress or sewing one?" I yell up the stairs. I know she has a lot of dresses, but Jesus. I don't have all day. No answer. I tsk.

I hear Kim's phone chime with a text. I turn around and walk towards the table to pick it up. 'Kim~ Are we going out tonight?' No name. I don't like this, but now is not the time to fight her on this. I place the phone back on the table as footsteps descend the stairs.

I can't stop my look of surprise at how gorgeous Teresa is Kim's red sparkly number. I knew Teresa was pretty, but her simple clothes she's been wearing hide it.

"Jimmy, don't make her run in my shoes. Otherwise you're gonna have to buy me a new pair." Kim says drawing my attention from Teresa figure. Fucking Kim, always know how to ruin a moment.

"Are you going out tonight?" I need to know more about that text. Plus, a little payback never hurts.

"With Cara." She throws her hand on her hip.

Baiting me to bitch at her. "Yeah, who else is gonna be there?" I ask trying not to sound jealous in front of Teresa.

"You're worried about that oil guy, aren't you?" She asks.

My eyes are downcast so she can't see how well she hit the nail on the head. Duh! I don't want any other man's hands on my woman. No matter how infuriating she can be.

"You don't have to worry." She gives me a quick kiss.

I don't say anything in response but I rub the pad of my thumb down her face and over her chin before going towards Teresa and the door. She is glaring again. I'm not positive, but I don't this glare isn't about the gun sitting at the entrance to my stairs. "Come on." I hiss. I grab the gun and head downstairs.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

We are sitting outside the party. Luxury cars with suicide doors and girls in slinky dresses are everywhere. My phone rings. "Yeah?"

"James, it's 5:30. Where are you?"

"Black car right out front." I look around but I don't see Gloria. Maybe she'll have better luck. "You see me?"

"Oh, there you are."

She found me right as I found her. "I see you."

Gloria approaches the car. "Hey, James." She greets me leaning in the car window.

"You always smell like cinnamon gum." I don't like cinnamon.

"Oh, that's weird because I'm always chewing cinnamon gum." She deadpans back. "Is this her?" She asks nodding toward Teresa.

"Yeah." I turn toward Teresa. "This is Gloria. She's gonna take you inside the party." I turn back to Gloria with a bag of coke in my hand, with a simple handshake she has her bribe for the bouncers.

"Come on, baby, let's go." She tells Teresa and head to the bouncer.

"Before you go, I want you to take this device, you go inside, and you wait for me to call you." I can see she wants to ask something, but I don't let her. "That's it. Nothing to it."

"What does it do?"

God! Can she not ask questions? "It messes up birds." I say dismissively, but I give her one more piece of advice before she leaves. "So listen, the guy that's having the party, that's Eric. That's the guy you want to stay away from."

She glares one last time and exits the car. I watch to make sure they make it past the bouncer before I move my car.

I move the car to get a good view point of his bedroom where he keeps all his creepy birds. I throw it in park and turn of my lights. I grab the camera and sit it on my dash. After setting it up, I can see into the main room where the party is. Teresa is near the window.

It's time to test my plan. I send two quick texts to Teresa: 'Go to the Master bedroom.' '1st floor. Left down the hall.'

I see her glance at her phone and she glances out at the darkness, before making her way to the bedroom. She carefully makes her way toward his room. Once she is in position, I call her.

"Yeah?" She whispers in greeting.

"This is what I want you to do." I respond without preamble. "On the floor, there's a grate."

She looks down and concurs with my statement. "Yeah." I see her squat to get access to it.

"Give it a tug. Pull the grate out. Get the device. Turn it on. Put the thing as far in the grate as you can. Put the grate back on and go to the living room." I give her step by step instructions to make sure this plan succeeds.

She stands up and informs me "I'm leaving now. I'm getting out of here."

"No." I growl. If this comes back to bite which is probably will, we can't have any ties to it. She can't leave yet.

"Why do I have to be here?" She hisses.

I pause before I answer so that I don't yell at her. "In case it doesn't work. That's why."

Before she can react to my 'because I said so' explanation, I see people approaching. "Wait, wait, wait. Someone's coming. Hide." I rush to tell her. No, no, no. This can't be happening. I scoot to the edge of my seat as I see her crouch to avoid being seen.

She moves behind the far wall of the full window closet she has been in and stands. She starts her path to sneak out. She must have seen them leave.

I look at the camera on my dash. A man is leaning forward with his arms behind his back sitting on a bright red chair. "Oh, shit." She enters the room with the man. I assume she is making an excuse as to why she is there, but then the conversation goes on and doesn't stop. Why isn't she leaving? She starts to walk past the man, but she stops and then turns to head back the way she came. "What the hell are you doing?" She grabs something from Eric's closet and heads back to the man. Is she seriously cutting this guy loose? No success. She leaves after he says something to her. She listens to some fucking stranger in a crazy man's house, but not me? She is insane!

She exits back to the party looking nervous, so I activate the device. The birds start freaking out. Good! One thing is going right tonight. I shut the device off as soon as I see Eric is headed to investigate. Eric enters the room talking to his birds; I open my scope and set my sights on his head. "Bang" I whisper with a smile on my face.

Teresa can leave and I let her know with a short text: 'Come outside now!'

She heads for the exit; rushing to leave. I meet her half way to my car, so she can easily find it.

She's angry and I clear my throat before her questions start. "You didn't kill him." She berates me. She didn't want this job to begin with and now she is pissed I didn't pull the trigger.

"I said I was gonna kill him. I didn't say that would be tonight." I give her details like I did before the party; filling her in with short sentences. She was a pretty face to get me my in, now it was time to educate her. Camila wants me to earn her trust, it can be done, but only with knowledge. She's smart. Knowledge is her friend. Plus, if I teach her she is less of a liability to me. "The bird man, his name's Eric Watson. He doesn't belong here. He's just babysitting land." My voice is irritated by the end. I hate Bird Man. I cannot wait to get my green light.

"What do you mean?" She seems confused.

I get it. I don't usually give information to her freely. She usually begs for it. Plus, if he is a babysitter, why can't we kill him. "Camila only owns half of Dallas. Did you know that?" I ask, but I continue before she can answer. "Jimenez cartel has the other half. I'm sure you've heard of them." I inform her before taking a drag from my cigarette.

"Yes." She acknowledges the information given.

I nod and we sit in the car.

"They have an accord with Epifanio- allows them to use Dallas as a hub, get down to the ports if there's trouble with their other outlets. So, if the DEA's up their ass, they can get drugs to Europe. Keep supply going out, keeps money coming in. They sent this prick to babysit their land. The thing is, Camila wants all of Dallas. Jimenez could give two shits about the cocaine business here. They just want to use the ports when they need them." I knowledge dump her with the relationship between Vargas and Jimenez. "Eric Watson, he's just a seat filler. He's a fly in the ointment one I have to be sanctioned to smush. I don't have permission. Not yet." My voice turns sour as I discuss Bird Man. It is a bit of a sore subject.

"So, what are we doing here?"

"We're preparing for our future." I say like it is the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm gonna get the green light. It's just a matter of time, and with your help, I'll be ready." A quick nod of thanks, but she spoils it.

"Camila grows, so do you." She is disgusted.

"I don't have to own the whole building. I just want a few bricks." I relax back into my seat. It's true. I don't want the stress of Camila's position. I just want to decrease my risk and increase my income.

She shakes her head at my plan while staring at the camera. Her brows furrow, so my attention turns to the screen. Eric enters the room with the guy handcuffed in a chair. Eric is yelling at the guy before back handing him.

"Such a kind prick." I continue to watch the silent interrogation. The guy attempts to stand up, but Eric isn't having any of it. A hand snakes around the guy's throat and places him back in the chair. Eric rears his fist back, but doesn't execute the follow through. "Okay, buddy, that's enough." Eric seems to have heard me, which is impossible, but he turns away from the guy. He grabs something and turns back. A bag. Apparently, Teresa isn't the only person who doesn't listen to me. He places the bag over the guy's head and tightens it to cut off the oxygen supply.

I swallow deeply.

"Come on, do something." This isn't my problem! Not my problem!

Teresa honks horn. I stop her.

"Hey!" I grab her attention. She is flapping her arms like one of Eric's fucking birds, while I try to get her under control. We go back and forth with our verbal sparring.

She tries to get me to help this random dude with variations of "He's gonna kill him," "Can't you see that?" "Get off me." "What's wrong with you?"

I am trying to avoid attention with "Stop that," and "Calm down."

"Stop it! What are you doing? Hey" My headlights flash. Shit! Feisty as ever. Kim is so much easier to calm down. Our battle continues.

"He's gonna kill him."

"Stop it, stop it."

"Calm down."

"What's wrong with you? He's gonna kill him!"

"We can't."

"Get off me!"

"Will you stop it?"

"He's gonna kill him. Get off me!"

'Calm down." When I finally get her to stop fighting with my arm wrapped around her I am glad for our positions since her fear is confirmed on the screen sitting on my dash.

The comfort I offered didn't last long as she rips herself from my grasp, horror present on her face.

"It took me six months to find out where this shithead lives. That is not my business. He would've been here even if we weren't. It's not on us, okay? We did nothing wrong." I try to justify myself to her.

She doesn't want to hear it. "We did nothing because of you." She is close to tears.

"What would you have done, hmm?" A small pause before I answer my own question for her. "There's nothing you could've done. He chose to be in Eric's world And that's his bad decision. Not ours."

Her eyes finally tear away from the screen, but she doesn't look at me. She's pissed.

I don't care. We made the right decision. You have to live beyond black and white in this business. The world is grey; especially ours. Her big heart is wonderful, but it is dangerous. She needs armor over it and soon. "You can tell yourself whatever you want, Teresa, but you couldn't have saved him. and if I let you try, all you would've done is expose what I'm doing, and I'm not gonna let that happen." I worked to fucking hard to have this destroyed. "Don't look away. That's your world now. That's your world now."

She turns back to me.

I offered her a way out and she didn't listen. "That's your world." My engine turns over and we back away from this turning point.

It's raining for our drive back. I pull into the parking lot. She unbuckles her seatbelt and I try to make my point again. "I know I told you to lay low when we first met, but you didn't, so don't forget it was you who chose this."

She turns and exits the car. "Next time you have a job, pick someone else. Anyone could've put a dress on and dropped that thing off." She spits her response at me and slams the door.

I lean over so I can see her as she nears the door. "Do you think that's what your job was?" Her attention is back on me. "Your job was to learn." She sighs and squares her shoulders before heading inside.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

Camila and I are talking face to face centimeters apart, about Teresa and the shit that happened today. Camila wants to know more about her. Well here it is. That shit from the past couple of days messed with her and I'm afraid she will try to run. Camila sends the Charger for Teresa. She sees her first since my back is toward the entrance. We both turn our torsos so our body language is more open.

"Sit." Camila commands quietly.

I move to a corner to witness. I am always quiet when Camila and Teresa talk. My job is to be Camila's right hand. My opinion is only wanted when we are alone. Plus, Teresa makes me nervous. She is feisty, strong, brave, and stubborn. I like her, but I don't know what to make of my feeling for her.

Camila move to the desk and sits on the edge near Teresa's chair. "I understand you're probably shook up with what happened tonight, and with the two dead bodies of the other day at the drug bust, well, if I were you, I probably would be thinking tomorrow at sunrise, when the first light hits the ground, I'm gonna run. I'm sure you understand by now that you're very important to me because of what you have against Epifanio."

That's the golden ticket. Whatever she has is legit, because Epifanio is nervous. I just wish we knew what it was.

"So, I wouldn't be talking from a selfish point of view when I tell you that if you run away and I had to kill you, I would be very disappointed."

That statement makes me uncomfortable. I shift my position against the cabinets.

"Not only because of what you have against my husband, but because I'm really I'm really starting to like you."

Fuck. That makes me even move uncomfortable. My hands go to my hips and I lower my eyes to control my reaction. Although, I am quiet during these exchanges, it doesn't mean I don't listen to everything that is said.

"See those things today, what happened, you can't run away from that. Your real family may have abandoned you, but this family won't. You don't have to be afraid about Epifanio. I'll take care of him."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Still don't own this! I'm not making money, so don't sue.

Author's Note: No Beta so I apologize for any errors. Reviews please my soul. *Nudge Nudge Wink Wink*

Author's Note Two (2): Thank you for the wonderful reviews! Made my night so much better! I'm very shy about sharing my writing. So, it is lovely to hear so many compliments.

Author's Note Three (3): I have the season of Season One (1) chapters started. So, it's a matter of flushing out the scenes for each episode.

Chapter Five: El Engaño Como La Regla

"My phone's ringing nonstop. We're late with everyone. No one has their shipments." I tell Camila. I can hear the concern in my voice. Normally, I would hate for her to sense my stress, but I hope it will force her to see the seriousness of the situation. This is the start of a shit storm. Camila wants to take over and be separate from Epifanio, and I do too, but antagonizing him is stupid and dangerous. I will gladly stick with the status quo rather than deal with this bullshit.

She doesn't even look nervous while she is seated on that red couch in her office. I wish I had her confidence right now. "What are you telling them?" She asks me.

"Whatever they need to hear." What else would I tell them? The truth? And have us look like fools?

"Well, you don't need to tell them anything anymore."

My phone vibrates. It's another buyer. Shit. I ignore the call.

"I just spoke with Reynaldo in Colombia. I'm waiting for his confirmation to see if the shipment is arriving later today."

I place my phone back in my pocket and relax into that zebra- striped chair across from her while I let out a sigh. "Good." Finally, we can breathe. I rub my hand over my jaw, thinking quickly about how to inform her of why I am so concerned about this situation. The knowledge of a shipment arriving has eased my tension, but I am still nervous to inform her of disaccord among the ranks. "I didn't want to tell you this, but..." I pause while I scratch my left cheek. My hands tell my emotions much better than my face. "People are wondering if there's change coming."

"Wondering?" She glares at me like it's my fault.

I am worried, but it's not just me. "I can see why that would be discussed." I tell her. This is her office and it is just the two of us. Honesty and doubt are allowed here. I try to save that for moments, like this one, when I'm desperate for her to listen to me though.

"Why?" She is pissed.

"Why?" I hiss. How does she really not know why we are concerned? So, I spell it out for her. "Because everyone knows Epifanio's running for governor down there. He's trying to keep his hands clean. Our product is low. Maybe they think they can touch us now, take Dallas from us. Maybe they think he's not paying attention." I throw out every worry I have heard voiced and my fears as well.

"Well, they would be wrong to think that." She hisses in return, but I see the concerns hit their mark.

"You know it's Eric who started this shit, right?" I pause for a moment and then decide it was a rhetorical question. "I mean, you know that better than anyone." Eric needs to be removed. "Birdbrain." I hurl the insult quietly, before I continue harping on the problem. "I'm ready to make that problem go away. Just say the word. He's gone. I'll eat his goddamn birds one at a time."

"You know it's not as easy as that." She informs me as her phone vibrates.

I roll my eyes. Fine. Bird Man lives to die another day.

"It's Colombia. I advanced the delivery. It's confirmed, so we're no longer low on product. The shipment is arriving later today. And I want you to receive it personally. Get ready." Her voice took on a gravelly quality. She is done with this conversation.

I stand up with a nod and head out to my ride.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I'm leaning against the van we will be taking today, lighting a cigarette when I see Teresa's shitty mostly red car pull into the lot. My phone is up to my ear listening to the voice on the other side as she heads to the entrance, ignoring me. Camila meets her at the van I leaning on.

"What is it?" She asks concerned.

"I need you to go on a run. It's a shipment." Camila tells her. I focus back on the call as our backup heads past the women with a sack full of guns like Second Amendment happy Santa. "Just go with James." She says quickly, dismissing us.

I missed some of their conversation, but I tune in to hear that Teresa is riding with me. I end the phone call and place my phone in my back pocket. Teresa heads to the van. "Aren't you lucky?" I tell her as I flick my cigarette to the ground. "You get to ride with me again."

The ride is quiet except for the music playing from the speakers. Then Teresa starts her inevitable questioning. "Whose car is this?" She asks me after looking into the back seat.

I don't respond. She's asking the wrong questions. I turn the music up to drown the silence. She turns it up more. Okay. This is enough. I slap my palm against the knob and turn the radio off. I've got Camila who is oblivious and Teresa who doesn't seem to understand that this world isn't all sunshine and rainbows. "So, you're still messed up about what happened at Eric's, right?" I turn to look at her, while tapping my index finger against the steering wheel. A nervous habit. She's facing the window. At first, I thought she might ignore me, so I focus my eyes back on the road. But this is Teresa. She doesn't understand being quiet.

"You sat by and let that man be murdered. That's not who I am. That's not who I want to become." She said never moving to face me.

"Too late." I turn to her again. "I told you fact the guy was gonna die if we were there or not."

"Okay, so it just never happened." It sounds like that statement broke her heart to say. She still hasn't moved from staring out the window.

"Look, there are gonna be some things that you see that if you allow yourself to care about, you won't be able to forget." I try to feign indifference, but my voice betrays me. I know what she is going through. "It's an occupational hazard." I use that statement to hide my emotions, but my hands betray me just like my voice did. My hand hasn't stayed still since we started discussing the murder at Eric's.

"You think I haven't seen darkness?" She questions darkly as she finally turns from the window.

"That's not it. That's not what I'm saying." Everyone has seen darkness especially in this business. "It's how you deal with those things. That's what I'm talking about." I tell her. I see it on her face, she still doesn't get it. So, I attempt to explain it in another way. "Now, say you're trapped in a cave, right? And you think, 'What happens when the light goes out?' You're gonna be terrified, sure. The light won't last, that it'll go out. But you know what happens when it does go out?" I pause. Some point in our talk she turned back to look out that damn window. "You learn to live in the dark, because you've got no choice." Eventually, you realize it's me or them and 'me' is the only one that matters.

She shakes her head at my analogy, but uses it to give me insight into her philosophy. "They should use the time they can see to get out of the cave."

"No, can't get out of the cave." My turn to shake my head.

"Why not?" She asks with a hint of a smile, like I'm crazy for thinking you can't escape.

"Because you're in it every time you close your eyes. That's why." My voice has a hint of sadness. I seem heartless, but I'm not. I just learned long ago to hide the fact that I care about every life snuffed too soon. "You know what I'm talking about." And I know she does. Darkness fades but it leaves its mark.

We pull into a parking lot. "All right, we're gonna be on foot from here." Parking in an open spot, I begin today's lesson. "I use that street because there's access to the freeway at three different points." I use my hand to point them out. On the left, "Delaney, Essex" to the right, "and the interchange" behind us. "and the on-ramp's right there". I point to the right. "That's where you go if you're in trouble." I tell her as I pull the keys from the ignition. "Understand?" I question as I throw the keys up into the sunglasses holder. "This is one of the usual spots. I know every inch of it, and soon you will too." I exit the van. "Let's go."

We start our track to the parking garage where we'll meet the Colombians. As we walk, I try to point out things about our job today that will benefit her later.

Our guy is already here. He scoped out the area before we got there. We clasp hands in greeting. "All good?" I ask about his assessment.

"Yeah." Short and to the point.

We start the hike up the stairs that lead us to our meet point.

I lead the group stepping ahead to quickly survey the area and agree that all's well. My phone buzzes. One text is on my screen. 'On time.' It says. "We're on." I say to them as I put my phone away.

Three white vans head up the ramp speeding toward us. Seeing those vans park, I let out a small sigh of relief. Seeing and hearing that a shipment has come to save your ass are two different things. They park at an angle and I go to meet the drivers. No words are shared in greeting, that's fine with me. I just want this shipment home at the warehouse.

I'm inspecting the shipment when I hear a shout of "Malditos bastardos!" and the ring of gunshots. Fucking cops. I pull my gun from my waistband and round the door of the van and shooting as I go. I pop off a few shots before making my way in the other direction toward where Teresa had been standing, laying down fire as I take cover beside a silver car.

I land next to Teresa as our guy shouts to "Go, go, go," before making his exit over the 'railing' in front of our hiding spot.

I yell at Teresa to "Give me your gun." She quickly does what I ask for a change. Too scared to argue. I check both guns before jumping up and laying another round of bullets using both weapons. The Colombians are falling to DEA bullets, but as long as I stay standing who cares. I empty both weapons and yell out "Jump or die. Come on," as I vault over the cables in front of us. I hit the layer of cushioning one level down and then jump again to hit ground level.

I take off running not waiting to see if Teresa listened to me. We all manage to catch up to each other and we run back towards our cars. We don't stop since we can still hear gunfire and a continuous horn honking from the garage we escaped from. It's just Teresa and I after our guy turns the direction of his vehicle. I keep looking over my shoulder. Teresa is still following me. I don't see anybody after us, but I'm not taking chances. I was serious when I told Camila I want to stay out of handcuffs. I slow down so Teresa can get close enough to hear me, but I don't stop. "Split up. Go that way." I yell pointing to my left as I curve to the right.

I continue to run, through a covered walkway between two buildings, past a construction site, still checking over my shoulder every so often. Finally! I see the free trolley that runs through downtown. I change my speed just enough to get on without twisting an ankle as I hop on. I sit on the first seat available to rest for a moment before standing and moving further back. I hear a cop car nearby, I crane my body to take a look, but it blows past the trolley without a second thought. My phone buzzes.

It's Teresa. "Where are you?" She's worried.

"On a trolley. Northbound on McKinney." I tell her. I'm good. I'll figure a way back. "Where are you?" Hopefully she is safe.

"I'm coming back to get you." Great! Back to the not listening thing she is so good at.

"No, there's cops everywhere." I tell her the obvious. Now time to use my commanding voice. "Get on that ramp and get back to the warehouse." The line goes dead. I hope to God she listens to me.

I hear a horn honk a few times. I investigate its owner and see the van we commandeered for today. Of course, she didn't listen. She is so hardheaded sometimes. I pull my hood up and turn around to exit the trolley at the crossroads where I see Teresa parked. I limp to fix my stride as I hop off the trolley. She has the door partly open for me to grab. I open it further and sit in the passenger's seat. "That was stupid. I told you to go." I bite out as I look behind us to see if anyone's following. It's clear. I push my hood down. "It's just us." Now how to get us back. I see an on ramp we can use. "Take a left here, on the freeway."

She follows my direction as I check our surroundings again. We're good.

The drive is quiet. She suddenly pulls into a parking lot of a liquor store.

"What are you doing?" It's weird to be the one asking her questions.

She places the van in park and turns off the car. "I need air." She says simply. Her seatbelt is off next then she exits the car.

Since it seems our positions are reversed, I figure I'll stick with it. I hop out of the car as well. "You turned around." It's a simple statement of fact. I'm thankful, but I need to know why. "Why'd you turn around?"

"I used the time I could see to get you out of the cave." She said using the analogy from earlier. That provokes some thought.

She's a better person than me. My moral compass broke a long time ago and I accept that, but she doesn't. She thinks I'm better than I am. Teresa sees the good in people and cares about right and wrong. It's refreshing, but exhausting at the same time.

Before I can respond, my phone buzzes. It's Camila.

I don't greet her. I just let her know, I'm alive and "I'm on my way back." My voice doesn't have the intended goal of: we can discuss this disaster later.

"This is all over the news." She's says tightly. She's pissed. "What the hell happened?" She yells.

"I don't know, but it's gone," I say sadly as my shoulders hunch.

Teresa walks past me.

"all of it." I remove the phone from my ear and end the call. "Where are you going?" My turn to be angry.

"I'm walking back."

What the hell prompted that? Whatever. I don't have the energy to worry about her hurt feeling right now.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I enter the coffee shop that I told Kim to meet me in, when I called her from our place as I packed a bag.

"Hi, honey." She greets as I approach.

I sit and place the duffel on the floor next to me.

She eyes it warily and asks, "What's with the bag?

I focus my attention to the bag, playing with the handles, before telling her the truth. "I packed some of your stuff." I turn back toward her and clasp my hands together. "I'll explain later."

She knows what's coming. I see it as she diverts her eyes.

I soldier on to get it over with so her bitching can begin. "But we've got to go to the trailer." I start my apologies before she can start to complain. "I know. I know. I'm sorry. Something went down. I don't know what's gonna happen, but I need you to be safe." And it's true. I don't know what's going to happen or if anything will even come of this, but I won't risk it. I love her, despite everything I have to put up with from her sometimes.

She has her long slender fingers against the side of her neck. She's looking at me awaiting the perfect opening to complain.

"You know I'm doing this for your own protection."

She lets out a breathy chuckle at that. "I know. I know the drill. Jesus, Lord, I know the drill." She exasperates, stopping me from continuing my speech. "For how long? I used up all my sick days last time." She huffs.

I shift in the chair uncomfortably. This may not even be a real threat. "I don't know exactly." I tell her truthfully as my eyes shift across the table. I finally risk a glance and wish I didn't.

She doesn't say anything, but her look says it all. She's pissed too.

I now have three pissed off women in my life. One is bad enough, but all three. I can't escape the anger, so I work to solve the easiest and most important one first. Easy, because she is doesn't hide behind questions and body language like Teresa, not does she hide behind her words like Camila. Important, because I come home to Kim. I get out of my chair and move closer and try to appeal to what she loves about the trailer. "Hey, come on. You always kick and scream, and then you say you love the view from the lake."

"I meant when we build a home on it, not hiding in some rusty old trailer." She groans as she tries to fight me one last time, but I see I've won. I've tamed her ire for now.

"It's not always gonna be like this. I promise." I am trying to make sure of that. "Come on. I'll get you set up. I got to get back to Camila's."

She sighs but gives in and grabs her purse to follow me.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

After settling Kim in, I head to the club. I pull up at the main entrance and the valet takes my car.

I walk up into Camila's office. Camila is pacing and the Charger just looks stressed. I'm barely in the door, before the interrogation starts.

"What the hell happened?"

I shrug my shoulders. Hell, if I know. "The feds were waiting for us. I mean, they knew about the shipment." I say facing Camila, before turning to the Charger. "I mean, someone must have tipped them off. How else?"

"So, you're saying we got a mole?" He asks a dangerous question, but one that must be explored.

I shrug again. I don't know the answer to why we lost the shipment, but a mole is a plausible answer. "And it's gonna get worse when the Colombians realize," I turn back to Camila. "That we just lost them 5 million bucks."

She's freaking out. About time. Wish it had been sooner, but she's at least finally taking this seriously. "How much coke do we have left, including reserves?" This question posed to the Charger.

He shakes his head. We have none, nada, nil. This is bad!

"Well, Epifanio is sending a shipment tonight."

I throw my hands on my hips and glare at her in disbelief.

"We can just sell it, you know, and pay the Colombians. We'll be fine." She sighs as she gives me her whatever the hell that just was. Because it sure as shit isn't a plan.

"Epifanio?" I scoff.

She glares at me.

I continue my concerns before she says anything. "He hasn't exactly been very reliable recently. I mean, that's why we're in this mess in the first place. We're losing customers to Eric, we owe the Colombians 5 million, and if he doesn't come through, we got nothing" I throw out every issue I have with her 'plan.'

"Well, do you have an idea?" She asks me.

I say nothing.

"What? Speak up." She asks the Charger.

I turn and see he seems to have an idea, but given his discomfort I have a feeling we won't like it.

"Well, you know I don't often question your decisions" He starts trying to make her see that he trusts her judgement and reminds her that he is loyal. We really will not like this idea. "We're on the hook for 5 million bucks." He puffs himself up for a breath of confidence, before getting to the part that I know I won't like. "Sell Teresa to Epifanio for $5 million."

I shoot him a dirty look before lowering my eyes. I was right; I don't like his idea.

"Use that money to pay back the Colombians, and we are back in business." He continues.

I turn to face Camila, scrutinizing her face for an inkling of her thoughts on this matter.

"You must love your business more than you hate Epifanio." The Charger finishes quietly.

"Maybe you're right." She says.

Shit! I can't believe she is okay with this idea.

We are all silent as her declaration hits us all differently.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Still don't own this! I'm not making money, so don't sue.

Author's Note: No Beta so I apologize for any errors. Reviews please my soul. *Nudge Nudge Wink Wink*

Author's Note Two (2): I will not be posting next week (week of 6/25). I will be out of town to see my favorite band! So, there will be a wait for chapter seven (7), but hopefully not too long.

Author's Note Three (3): Thank you for the reviews, so great to hear that you all are enjoying my story.

Author's Note Four (4): I have been sick this week so my writing time has been limited and the times I felt up to it, my writing was poor quality. So hopefully the wait has been worth it.

Chapter Six: El Hombre Pájaro

I push the door open and hold it for Camila as we enter the biker bar. My head swivels as we enter making sure she is safe. She heads left to the side room.

Travis' voice greets before I see him. "Camila Vargas. You're slumming."

She ignores the barb and leans over the table to glare at him. "You were only supposed to do business with me. I asked you to wait for 24 hours. You couldn't even honor that?" She berates him in typical Camila fashion. Her voice never speeds up nor increases in volume, but you can tell she's angry at the betrayal.

My attention turns to Travis to see what he makes of her speech. He's face is impartial.

"You go to Birdman and take product from him?" she continues her assault.

"You're dry. Eric had product; you didn't. It's not personal." His defense is simple and to the point. I get it, then he started to defend his actions.

I try to look bored, glancing at my watch, not really seeing the time.

"Besides, I'm not the first person Eric's helped out. From what I hear, Allen's buying from him now too." Travis rats out Allen and leans back in his chair.

"You were one of my first customers. I expected more." She says disappointed.

"It's just this one time." Travis says quietly, while Camila turns to me.

"It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission." Camila explains with a smile on her face, as she turns back to Travis. She has a point. "I came here personally to let you know that I have everything under control."

A moment of silence passes between them.

"Let's talk when you get that load." Travis is still willing to buy from us. So, we need to take that as a win.

The smile that Camila wore turns sour at his statement. Blind faith in our organization is minimal if not nonexistent right now. We exit without responding to his statement.

"Estupido." Camila hisses as we exit the bar.

"You know, he's not the problem." I inform her as I put my sunglasses back on. "Eric is." I let that sink in for a moment. I tell her some information I learned. "I had my guys buy a brick from him to test it. It was 90% pure. I mean, the best we could ever do and turn a profit is 80%. Makes no sense. He's losing money."

"It's not about the money. It's about running me out of business. Once I'm out, prices go up, product quality goes down."

Damn! "This Eric problem could go away very quickly." I tell her as I open the passenger side door for her. Once she is seated in the car, I lean over with one hand on the door and the other on the frame of the vehicle, so I can whisper. "I'm prepared for that. Nothing would make me happier. 'Cause we can deal with the fallout, whatever that is."

She gives me an acknowledgement nod. It's not a go ahead, but she will discuss with the shot callers.

So, I step back and she moves her legs into the SUV and I shut the door. I give a final look around to make sure it is clear, before heading around to the driver's side. We don't leave just yet. Camila wants to call Epifanio first to get information on our shipment.

My eyes don't stay still nor do my hands. I don't like when we make this calls away from safe ground.

"So now you read minds?" She says simply in lieu of a real greeting. "When is it coming?"

He must respond with a smart comment, since she snaps back with, "That would be helpful."

"Well, that's good." She says to his next answer. "But it's not the only reason I called you for. I need more." She informs him.

I hate only having one side of the conversation.

"I need more because I need to cut purer. It's Eric. He's continuing to be a problem, delivering quality I can't match." She explains it in clear terms, but apparently that isn't good enough for Epifanio because she continues her rant. "He's using my delays to take over Dallas. He's flaunting. We cannot touch him."

Epifanio has given some excuse again. I can tell before she even starts her outburst.

"I don't care what your treaty is. He's got to go. I don't ask you for anything. I'm asking you for this. I want the green light to take him out today." She is pissed and letting it show. She then turns silent. So silent that Epifanio must be worried she hung up. "I'm here."

Whatever he says, she finds it amusing as a small smile graces her lips.

"Well, when you concede to your rival for governor, then we'll talk." She hangs up on her estranged husband. Oh, he is trying to convince her to come home again.

We turn to face each other after that exhausting phone call.

"I need you to escort that shipment personally to the warehouse. It's too important."

I give her a quick nod to let her know I understood, before pulling my phone out to text Teresa. 'Are you back yet?'

She sends me back 'Still waiting at pharmacy'

Damn! Okay, I guess it'll just be me and the guys on this one.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

We are driving along the highway to our meet point with Epifanio's man. The Charger is riding shot gun in of a crew cab Chevy pickup with a cap, and I'm behind the wheel of a green bronco, while some hip-hop song plays in the background. I turn my attention to pick up my phone and dial Camila. "I'm five minutes away." I start without preamble.

"Let me know when you have the shipment." She tells me

I hang up without confirming the order.

My next call is to the Charger.

"Bueno." He answers.

"Our business is in a white semi, Mexican plates. Should be ahead about a mile." I let them know what we are looking for. I hang up without waiting for a reply.

"Shit. Cops." Tonto hisses.

No fucking shit! I see they have a semi pulled over.

Fuck!

Tonto voices my thoughts. "Looks like our load got busted."

I grab my phone again and dial the Charger. The line is ringing and I see Tonto prepping his weapon for a showdown.

"What we gonna do?" The Charger asks defaulting to me for advice when he answers.

"Give me a second." Everyone is looking to me. We need the shipment, but we can't risk a fight with the cops. Tonto is getting antsy the closer we get to the bust. We are at the first cop car, when I decide to keep us all alive and handcuff free. "Go home."

I hang up my phone and pull a blanket over the guns sitting between our seats. I quickly give my head a rub with my hand and wave to the cops trying to be cool, but I know it looked awkward as fuck. We drive slowly past the full line of cop cars. They have our driver cuffed and standing facing us. Tonto is shaking with nerves. He's worse than me right now. Once we are past that disaster, I slam my palm against the wheel of the Bronco. "Damn it."

I'm back to normal speed as we head back to the club.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I'm sitting on Camila's couch in her office.

"Epifanio?" Camila says into her phone.

I can't hear Epifanio's opening words, so I try to go back and focus on the paperwork I have in front of me. It doesn't work though as she speaks again.

"Someone knew the truck was coming. They just knew."

Another pause for Epifanio to respond.

"They were waiting for it." She hisses at her husband.

He spews some excuse.

"You know this is just insane." She goes silent again, but for a longer period of time.

She looks more upset the longer he talks. "Well, I just need to know when you're sending the next shipment. And when I say it's a dire situation, I'm not overstating; I need the coke now. You know I need to fix this."

He says something in response to her statement and then I realize he hung up on her as she slams herself into her chair at her desk.

So, I go back to my paperwork.

"James." She says my name to grab my attention.

"What?" I say as I look up and see her focused on the laptop with the surveillance footage.

"Where's Teresa?" She asks tensely.

"The Charger sent her to get medicine for Maya." I tell her as I type on my laptop.

"Come." She commands.

I drop my papers on the sofa and walk over to the desk.

Before I make it to the desk, she tells me her concern. "She's not back yet."

I take a quick glance of the footage, squinting at the screen. Camila's right, she's not there, but she should be back by now.

"You don't think, after what happened today, that's strange?" Camila asks.

Oh shit, Epifanio got in Camila's head. She's doubting Teresa. Could Teresa be the one talking to the feds? My gut tells me it isn't Teresa, but we didn't have problems until she showed up on our mule route.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I hear Teresa explain the extra miles on the odometer. "I saw the doctor. Then I grabbed something to eat."

I scrap the plastic aside to enter Camila's office at the warehouse. Teresa turns to look at me as I enter. I move to lean against the wall to watch her reactions. Teresa is seated the closest to the entrance, while Camila is on the far side of the desk looking regal as she asks Teresa more questions.

"What did you eat? Did you get a receipt? You did ask for one, right? You know you have to get receipts for everything. So, let me see it." Camila leans forward with her hand extended for the proof she requests.

A short staring contest ensues. Camila turns her attention to me. I stand silent refusing to acknowledge the bait. I prefer to stay silent and still during these talks between Camila and Teresa. Her attention turns back to Teresa.

Teresa reaching into her pocket and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper.

Camila inspects it, a small smile graces her lips. "You know, I think you have to be careful, because we let you move freely, because I trust you, because I know that you know that what I did for you, in regards to Epifanio, it was a hard thing for me to do, putting myself out there for you." She says it like she hasn't enjoyed pulling the wool over Epifanio's eyes. She leans forward and whispers to Teresa. "I can see you need to learn to trust people."

Teresa turns her eyes to the floor, uncomfortable with Camila's closeness, before deciding she won't be intimidated by her. Teresa looks back at Camila and squares her shoulders for the rest of the interrogation.

"It's not an easy thing for you to do, is it? When you proved your loyalty by swallowing those drugs for me, I was honest when I told you: you passed my test. Did I not tell you that?"

"Mm-hmm." Teresa mumbles as a reply. Apparently, her fear is more present than she would like.

Camila stands and moves around the desk nearing Teresa with every step, sitting on the edge with her arms crossed. "I'm allowing you to be part of our thing here, right? Putting a roof over your head, protecting you from my husband, and I just don't want to have to worry about you. Do I have to worry about you, Teresa?"

"No." Teresa whispers. It's so quiet, I almost missed it.

"No." She repeats the answer before standing and moving once again. Camila uses this tactic to make people feel uncomfortable. It's working.

Hell, it's working on me too and I'm not the one facing her fury. I don't like her hot and cold game with Teresa. Plus, every time I stand in on these meetings Camila wants my thoughts and I hate how conflicted I feel surrounding Teresa and her involvement.

"I think you can be successful here. You can reach goals. I have an eye for that." Back down in her damn chair, all this movement makes me dizzy. "I have an eye for you. And I'm gonna tell you something else. If the DEA tries to get you to cooperate, just come to me and tell me, okay?" She says like a big sister would say to her baby sister.

"Yeah." Teresa whispers.

"You can go now." She dismisses Teresa with a fake smile.

Teresa seems to get the idea and stands up to leave, when she makes it to the entrance of the office, Camila's voice forces her to turn around.

"Teresa, thank you for taking care of her." It's actually sincere.

Teresa nods before turning back around to the entrance. She meets my eyes and I feel like she blames me for this interrogation. I'm not innocent in this charade, but I don't like seeing that look from Teresa. She exits as I swallow quietly. My attention changes to Camila, forcing my emotions behind a wall, before any of my thoughts register to my face.

Her smile fades as soon as Teresa is out of the room. "Do you believe her?" Camila asks me.

I guess it is my turn to be questioned. Silence greets her for a moment while I formulate my thoughts. "I think she hides a lot of things, but the DEA isn't one of them." I answer truthfully.

"Well, someone is talking somewhere. Two shipments in one month that just doesn't happen." She tells me like I'm unaware. "How did you find out how much longer they're willing to wait for the delivery? How much time do we have?"

"No one's returning calls." I answer her. "That's what happens when they think you're dry." I hiss as an explanation. I see she is ready to leave, so I move the plastic curtain out of her way.

"Well, I am dry." She states bluntly.

I follow her. As we weave through the warehouse to leave, I decide to give her an option she isn't aware of. "I'm not saying that I have a solution, but I think I have something that can buy us some time." It's not a solution, but it could at least settle the bitching. "I know these guys in Miami. Usually they deal in liquor and cigarettes to Cuba. They've made a lot of money. They've got a boat, and they want to unload twenty-five keys." I blurt it out to Camila. She's going to think it's small time, but at least I'm thinking outside the box. I was right, I think to myself, as she laughs at the thought.

"Twenty-five keys. That's funny. Twenty- five kilos wouldn't even take care of one quarter of our people. What am I supposed to do with that?" She asks me as we stop walking. She leans over the table that we are standing near, trying to make me uncomfortable.

"We choose some of our more vocal customers. We give them the twenty-five. Then they're gonna start saying that she's got some product after all. It just buys us some more time." That's it. We need more time to put together a plan of action to regain a hold on our business. All these guys turning to Eric, are guys we are going to lose if we aren't careful.

"It won't have to come to that. I'm going to the Colombians to advance another shipment. I have a meeting with Jaime, head of their distribution. And that's that." She punctuates her statement by standing up straight and walking away.

I lean over the table as she leaves and think about the fact she would rather stick with old options that haven't worked lately than even ponder to entertain new opportunities.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

We enter the outdoor dining area where we are to meet Jaime. I trail behind Camila and stop at a table near where Jaime is seated.

"Buenas noches." Jamie says as he stands to greet Camila.

She whispers a greeting back and they kiss each other's cheek.

I wait for Camila to sit before taking my seat where I can keep them in view. Camila is trying to appear relaxed, but it is easy to see that she's stressed. Jaime on the other hand is calm as can be, slowly eating his dinner.

"I just heard you lost another shipment. One Mexican and one ours." He starts the conversation and then chuckles lightly. "Without bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all."

"I don't know what's going on. Maybe the DEA is on me. Or maybe…" She pauses and Jamie looks up at her. She continues, "someone is not as loyal anymore. So, yes, I am in trouble."

"Yeah, well, you know what they say. There's nothing like a good crisis to find out what loyalty is all about." He isn't even fazed by her concerns.

"Hmm." She huffs in response. "But I'm losing respect. I can't afford that. That's our currency, you know that. So, I need another chance. I need another shipment." Finally, she gets to the heart of the dialog.

"I wish I had your confidence." He tells her truthfully.

"I know you guys just delivered in Houston. I know you have some product in Amarillo as well. Maybe we can borrow from them until we replenish."

He smiles at her knowledge. Why he thinks it's funny, I'm not sure yet. "You owe me five million dollars. It's not our fault that you lost your shipment. Once those shipments get to America, they are your responsibility."

"Yeah, I understand. But I know that you know that I'm good for it. And let me just remind you that three months ago, before you got this post, I was dealing directly with Reynaldo." She name drops to Jaime hoping to prove that she is trustworthy.

"Camila, if you don't think that Reynaldo knew that you had a built-in cosigner, you're sorely mistaken." He smiles and she appears ruffled.

"What do you mean?" She threatens.

"Your husband is Epifanio Vargas. All you have to do is tell him to give me my money, and this will all be done. And you can have yourself another shipment." He pulls out his cell phone and places it on the table. "Call." He pauses waiting for her answer. "I am vulnerable right now to the people I'm responsible to, when all you have to do is pick up the phone, call your husband, and get me my money." Another short pause. "But you don't want to, unless he doesn't know about our dealings."

She slides the phone back across the table. "I've handled this myself. It's me you've been dealing with, and it's me you're gonna continue to deal with. He has nothing to do with this. And I want to keep it that way." She bites back.

"$5 million, nothing less." His offer simple, same as Travis'. No deal without evidence.

"I'll get it." She stands up to end the conversation.

"Three days. Or I'll call Epifiano myself. And whatever fate is doing to you, it's going to finish its job." He ends the conversation.

"Enjoy." She whispers in confirmation to his threat.

I stand up to join her as we walk to the exit.

"Go to the place. Take the cash." She hisses her command to me.

"All five million? That's our entire reserve." I ask her because I need to be sure that she wants to pull our entire safety net out of the 'bank' before I do it.

"Everything, take it all. You know I'm gonna put every cent I have into this because I'm not gonna let it fall apart. I've lost too much of my life in this already." She pauses to let that sink in.

Oh, I'm aware of the losses we take to live this life.

"I want you to go with Teresa. Now take her with you. I don't know what's going on. Keep her close."

A quick nod to let her know I understand her request before she continues the walk to the car. I let out a small sigh before following Camila to the car.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

"We're here." I tell Teresa as we near our destination.

We're the middle car in an envoy sent to collect our reserve. It's dark and the road is wet, but she can still see that we are nowhere near a bank.

"This is Camila's bank?" She asks surprised. "A cemetery?" She questions further when I don't respond to the first.

"Dead bankers are the only bankers she trusts." I answer as we approach the gates. They swing open after only a few seconds of waiting. Once opened all the way, I begin to enter the cemetery. The watchman exits the building holding the door as he gives us a wave to let us know we are cleared to continue our journey. We drive on the car paths until I see our landmark, a large mausoleum. I cut left in front of it and park the car.

Exiting the vehicle, I grab my crow bar and flashlight and turn it on. I cross in front of the car and lead Teresa to the marker, a large white stone with 'Garcia' engraved at the top, with the stash. I hand her the flashlight while I pry the name plate off. Once loosened, I drop the crow bar and remove the plate. Inside are two duffels. I pull out the first one and open it to see the money is still inside. "Always save for a rainy day." I tell Teresa. I zip the first one back up, grab the second duffel, and quickly secure the name plate, using my fist to pop it back into place. I pick up the duffels and we head back to the car.

We are silent until we exit the cemetery, like she was afraid to speak around the dead. "What do we do with this money?" She inquires.

"You're gonna get it to Camila and get out of this mess." Silence looms again. In the quiet, I hear an engine revving. I peak in the rearview mirror, I see a car. It's high beams engage, temporarily blinding me. "Ah, shit." I hiss and surprisingly Teresa stays quiet. I focus on driving, watching my surroundings, hoping that the car behind us is just a jerk, but my gut tells me otherwise.

Especially when I hear Teresa say, "Watch out!" As a car, whips perpendicular into my lane.

I slam on the brakes and come to a complete stop. Our windshield is in perfect view for the passenger door of that car, which opens exposing a man with a gun. "Get down!" I shout pulling Teresa down with me below the dash. I cover my head and I hear shots hit the windshield. I can't see Teresa with the current angle of my head, but I hear her whimper as bullet hit the glass. I hear another vehicle approach, I turn to try and see out our back window. Fuck! It's not our guys! I duck again as bullet hit the car from behind this time. Suddenly, bullets aren't aimed at our windows, but at the trunk. Popping open my door, I exit the car.

The car in front of us whips by me and I use the door for cover. I lay down fire on one of the guys that hit the trunk, hitting him in the chest. I sense someone approaching my car and see it's Tonto so I stand up and approach the guy laying on the ground, gun still drawn. My left arm is stiff and it hurts to move it.

"They got one of the bags, two point five million gone." I say as I look over the body and see only one bag nearby. "Who are they?" I hiss before leaning down to investigate the one I dropped. "Damn, this one's dead." I say pulling at his sleeve exposing a dog tattoo on his outer wrist.

"I recognize that tattoo. He's one of Eric's men." Teresa is the one that answers.

Shit! I grab the bag and bark out a command of "let's get out of here. Let's go. Let's go." Sirens are heard in the distance and I move quicker towards Tonto's SUV.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

A groan escapes my lips as another piece of shrapnel is pulled from my shoulder by the Charger. My right hand grips the stool I'm sitting on in the warehouse. "I'm telling you it was Eric." It comes out as a hiss.

"You sure it was him?" Camila asks ignoring me.

"I'm positive." Teresa says, sounding confident like the day she told me that the money was fake. "I saw the tattoo at his party, on his bodyguard." She again explains why she knows it's Eric.

The charger steps away for a moment and Camila remembers I exist. She moves closer to me.

"This is an act of war. You need to call Epifanio and tell him what happened." I am begging her. It doesn't sound like it to most people, but she'll know.

"You know I can't do that, right?" She says as she leans on the sink, staring me down. "If he finds out I was trying to buy coke from the Colombians, we'd be at war with him too." She walks away.

I hate when she does that! Jesus Christ! This is insane! "We're still $2.5 million short. So, what do you want to do, Camila?" I'm shouting at this point.

She turns to glower at me one more time, before leaving me, still without answers. I relax into the stool and sigh. Fucking hell!

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

I enter the club and see Camila sitting at the bar with a drink in front of her. "James." She greets me as I begin to make myself a drink. "Those people in Florida, you say they have 25 kilos to sell?"

I nod as an answer to her question.

"I think we should cut a deal."

I look at her and ask one word, one question, "how?" As I run over our situation in my head. We owe the Colombians five million, so we used all our reserves to pay them and now we only have half that due to Eric. Camila won't ask for the green light on Eric again nor will she ask for the money from Epifanio. Where does she think we are going to get the money for twenty-five keys?

"We're not gonna pay for it. We're gonna steal it." She smiles as she says it.

Not sure if this such a good idea anymore. We can't out right steal it. We can't be tied to this! Damn it!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Still don't own this! I'm not making money, so don't sue.

Author's Note: No Beta so I apologize for any errors. Reviews please my soul. *Nudge Nudge Wink Wink*

Author's Note Two (2): I'm sorry, it has been so long since an update. I've been to Chicago twice in as many weeks. Plus, my muse has been weirdly quiet. Hopefully, the wait is worth it.

Author's Note Three (3): I'm trying a new method in this chapter. Instead of only using what we see at the moment, I am taking some freedom with what happens off camera and also alluding to the future. Please, let me know if you like it or if I should go back to my old style.

Chapter Seven: Billete De Magia

Teresa is laying on her left side, sleeping peacefully. I hate to wake her up, but Camila insisted. I gently touch her right shoulder and she jerks awake, rolling to face me. "Get up." I whisper so we don't wake the other girls.

She recovers from her shock and grabs her phone. "It's 4:00 in the morning." She informs me just as quietly having gathered that we don't want to wake everyone up.

No fucking shit! I don't have time for twenty questions this morning. "Move, come on." I head to the gate in order to exit and she throws off the covers.

"Where are we going? I said where are we going?" She says.

"You'll see." I tell her cryptically. Camila wants to be the one to educate her.

She accepts that answer for now and throws on her boots.

Once her shoes are on, we head toward our vehicle of the day, a big black SUV. I head to the passenger's side and open her door, encouraging her with a nod to get in. She hops in silently and I shut the door before heading to the driver's side. Camila appears from nowhere for Teresa's first lesson of the day.

"Teresa, I need you to do something. It's important." She starts as soon as she approaches Teresa's open window. "Today is a different kind of business. Turning two and a half million dollars into five… it's not an easy trick. You're gonna be taking the same risks as everyone. So, I supposed you have the right to know what goes down and how it goes down." Camila turns her attention to me.

I nod in acceptance to her statement. My turn to address Teresa. "Some guys are coming in from Florida this morning. We're gonna meet them, and we're gonna rip 'em off." A very generic description of how today is supposed to go.

Teresa remains silent during the lesson and her only reaction to the news of our plan, that I know is driving her crazy with questions is to turn back to Camila.

"You have proven you can be relied upon to do what I need. I don't know everything about you." Camila takes over.

Boy isn't that the truth. Camila is used to being in charge and being knowledgeable. She doesn't like being in the dark and neither do I.

"You only reveal what you want. You're smart." Camila continues.

So true. It's rather annoying that we tell her as much as we do without expecting information in turn.

"Smart enough to understand why I protected you and kept you alive and kept you a secret from Epifanio, right?" Camila pauses.

I see Teresa nod slightly in response.

"Why is that?" Camila asks. Test time.

"I make him vulnerable." Teresa is confident in her reply.

"Because of what you saw his men do to Chino." Camila elaborates on Teresa's answer. "You understand you're only leverage for me, right?"

Camila gives me whiplash with how many times her emotions about Teresa change in a single conversation.

"But today, we have to take a risk. If something happens to you, I lose my leverage. I understand that. But if we don't succeed today, I don't have anything left, and leverage means nothing. And with nothing, I cannot protect you. So, we all lose if we fail. I know you're scared. Use that fear to stay alive. After all, you're a survivor." Camila finishes her lesson/ motivation speech. Whatever the fuck she wants to call it.

I work with the woman and it confused me.

Camila turns her gaze to me. "Be in touch." She says before turning away from me.

I turn on the car and pull away as Camila enters her Maserati.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

We pull up to a small little single-family home and I park the SUV. I exit the car silently. I don't want to deal with questions. This is the part of the job I hate the most. I can give and take orders, I'm a military man. I can carry out a hit, I was a goddamn sniper, but I hate torturing for information. If we are lucky, our men have done most the dirty work and I won't have to do anything.

Entering the house, I can see luck is not on my side. One guy has the husband hanging upside down, arms duct taped behind him, dunking him in the literal ice-cold fish tank. I pause to gaze at the scene. The man begs us in Spanish to spare him and let him go. I turn away before I become sick and see Teresa standing by the door looking as awkward as I feel. The other three men are guarding a woman and boy who sit in fear on the floor, so I grab and metal folding chair and set it down in front of them. The woman is crying, and the boy is scared, but trying to be brave.

I lean forward, my arms resting on my thighs, and I grab the attention of the woman without even touching her. I begin my interrogation quietly, trying not to spook her more. Fear is a useful technique to a certain extent. "Tell me. What time did you go to work today?"

"Five thirty in the morning." She responds in Spanish.

So, we have about an hour to get the information we need. Last thing we need is for our information to be late. I brush my right thumb over her left cheek to wipe away the tears that have formed. "If you cooperate with me, this will only take a few minutes. You gonna help me out here?"

She nods quickly, still crying.

"I want you to tell me everything about your work. Everything about that hotel. I want to know about the security cameras, and I want your pass key." I tell her my demands.

"They reset the keys every day. We only get them when we come in."

I lean back in the chair. Shit! That makes this slightly more difficult, but still manageable. It just means we need to find a maid once we arrive and get my contact's room number.

I lean back in for emphasis. "If you tell anyone we were here, we will come back for you. Do you understand?" I whisper my parting threat.

"Okay." She cries.

Leaning back in the chair again, I use that moment to take a cleansing breath. The guys will grab the reminder of information we need. Teresa is still standing by the door as I go to exit. She stays silent, even as I see the anger in her eyes at my role in what happened in that house.

Once back in the car, I tell her the some more details of our plan. We need their room number (her responsibility), the description of the bag our coke is in (my job), and access to their room (her job also). I inform her she'll need a maid outfit and their key card, and to make sure to snap a picture of her badge to use if necessary. No words are spoken for the rest of the ride, but I can tell she isn't happy with the active role she is playing at the hotel.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

We pull up in front of the hotel my contacts are staying in and I put the car in park. "This is it. Now we wait." I tell Teresa.

Only a moment or two passes before my phone rings. I take a peek at the caller id and see it's our contact at the airport. "Yeah?"

"They're here." He informs me quietly.

"Okay." I acknowledge his statement before hanging up the phone.

I turn to Teresa and I start instruction. I pull the tracker from my pocket. It's in a small clear plastic case. "All right, this is the tracker. When you're ready, you take it out." I open the case to show it to her." Just holding the edges, don't touch it flat on." I don't touch the tracker, but I point to the places safe and unsafe to touch. "The charge lasts two hours."

"Where do you get this?" She asks me. The first question she asks since the warehouse and that's the one she wants the answer to.

"You can get anything on the black market these days, if you can afford it."

She looks at me like I'm loco, but she doesn't seem surprised. I figured she'd have more questions, but a moment of silence passes. I realize she is going to remain silent.

I peak at my watch and let her know she needs to get inside. "All right, you should go." Before she opens the door, I pull out a handgun grasping the barrel.

Now, she looks surprised, but still doesn't say anything.

I get her a quick nod to encourage her to take it. I'm sure she is going to bitch at me, but she remains silent and grabs the gun from me.

She places it in the waist band of her jeans as I check my phone, then she exits the car to play her part in this scheme.

Once she closes the door, I pull away from the hotel to get a better vantage point of our contacts arrival.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

John and his brother arrive in a black limo with another guy in tow. I pull out my camera to get images of the bags so I can let Teresa know.

I place a call to John to make it look like I'm just checking up on my friend who's coming into town. Today is all about making sure we cover our tracks. He answers after only a couple of rings.

"James. What's up, man?"

"John, you in yet?" I ask excited.

"Yeah, man, we made it."

"Welcome to town, bud. How was your flight?" I continue asking friendly questions.

"It was good, good."

"Where are y'all staying?" Risky question, but if I don't ask it looks worse. You always ask where people are staying.

"We're close. In the city." He answers vaguely.

Of course, he doesn't want to tell me. He's nervous. Drugs aren't his business. "Nice." I respond with understanding. I need him to relax.

"Hey, it's all gonna be cool?" He asks me obviously nervous.

"It's gonna be all good, brother." I reassure him.

"Thanks for reaching out, man. We are psyched about getting this deal done." He thanks me with enthusiasm.

"All business. I like that." Now to set the location. "Listen, I thought we'd meet at this place I know." I want him to pick the spot. That way they can't say we had them followed. Because I can't just tell them to pick a spot. They aren't from here, and that would make them more worried.

"Hey, you know, I think I'd like to be the one to pick the place out when that time comes, if that's all right?"

"No problem." I shrug off my offer, like it's no big deal. Time to give him an excuse for why I offered. "It's just, I thought, I know Texas."

"Us Broward County boys, we did our homework, too. We know all about Texas. I'll pick a spot and give you a call."

"Sounds good." All's going well so far. "I want you to be as comfortable as possible here."

"Yeah, we'll be in touch." He tells me then hangs up.

Now to wait for Teresa's phone call. A few minutes passes before my phone rings.

"Yeah?"

"They're in room 1208."

"Okay, you're looking for a black suitcase." I tell her before hanging up the phone, and send her the picture I took.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

My phone rings. It's John. Time to move to the next step. "What's up, John?" He's panicking. "Slow down, slow down."

"He was Mexican, and he said we better go back to Florida." He yells through the phone.

"Slow down, slow down." I say again trying to get him to calm so I can ask for more information.

"He knew our names. Well, at least he knew my brother's name." He's less angry, but still sounds terrified.

"What'd he look like?" I ask, even though I already know the answer.

"He had two prison tats - under his eyes, tear drops." John tells me.

"How'd this guy know, man? They must've been following us from the get-go, from the airport." I hear Reggie say on the other end.

Marco has hopped into the car with me. "Wait wait a sec." I act like an idea of who it could be popped into my head. "Did the guy have, like, these beady little eyes that look like two piss holes in the snow?" I turn to Marco with a small smile on my face.

He flips me off in quiet response to my dig.

"Beady eyes?" I hear John ask.

"Beady eyes." Reggie agrees sounding haunted.

"What, you know him?" John's brain caught up with him finally.

"Yeah, it's the Jimenez cartel." I sound annoyed. Got to sell the false trail.

"The Jimenez cartel? What the shit do they have anything to do with this?" John is angry again.

"Relax. He's just trying to scare you. They're trying to make problems for us, not you. You're in our territory and they know it. I don't know how they know you're here. Maybe one of your guys in Florida opened his mouth. Who knows? It's gonna be okay. Just call me when you're ready to leave and let's get this shit done." I offer in order to relax them again.

John is silent and then my line goes dead. He hung up.

I hope my speech calmed them enough to continue with the deal.

Apparently, I worked some magic because John calls me back and give me a time and place.

~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~ ~ TJ~ TJ~

We arrive early to set up. It's a small storage building that's been abandoned away from other businesses. We only had to wait about ten minutes before John and two others show up in a god damn taxi. I laugh as I head towards them to greet them. "Oh, you're alive."

"Oh, not funny Jesus." He chuckles slightly, before reaching out to shake my hand.

"Good to see you, John."

"You too."

"It's Reggie, right?" I turn toward the guy in a grey linen suit.

"That's right. James, thanks for hooking this up." Reggie thanks me.

"Yeah." I shake it off. They are helping me more than I'm helping them. They just don't know it.

"This is Wendle." Reggie introduces me to the guy in black, carrying the suitcase.

"Good to meet you." I turn to my left to introduce my guys. "Flaco." Turn and point to my right. "This is my chemist. He's gonna be testing what you got."

"Sounds good. Let's do it." They agree to my plan.

We walk over to a table, and they open their case. They pull out a brick and hand it to the Charger. He looks disgusted before reaching to grab one of his choosing. He cuts a hole in the black wrapping and begins his tests.

John hands me a brick to check out. "It's got no markings. Where'd you get it from?"

"Some Cuban bought a stolen boat off us. Double what we were asking, but we had to take payment in coke. To be honest, I think he might have been a dirty Fed." They laugh at their deduction.

"Good shit." The Charger tells me when he finishes.

John slaps the table in excitement. Both him and Reggie look pleased. "That's right, I told you. He said it was the best." John tells me.

"Those dirty Feds, they always got the best dope." I chuckle.

"Do you, uh, mind if we check out the money?"

"Yeah, of course." I unzip our bag so they can do their inspection.

"Wow." John whispers in awe of the money before Reggie pulls out a couple of stacks to check.

He does a quick feel and listen to the bills as Reggie flips them by his ear. They can't tell shit from those little checks but whatever floats their boat. Teresa barely touched the money on that one deal and picked out fakes.

"Yes." Then, they run it through a bank counter. "Gentlemen." John says once it clears as a way of wrapping this up.

"All right. It's a good deal." I answer. I shake hands with everybody.

"Thank you, thank you."

"Yeah."

Reggie and Wendle head out to the taxi.

John lingers to make small talk, hoping to keep the good feeling going.

"So, I'll see you at Lorenzo's next bash." John says.

"Only if you bring that redhead. Remember her? The one with that ass." I can't help but join in.

"I do remember it. I married her."

Well that was a bit of a bomb shell. We need to talk more often obviously. "No shit? I'll see you, John. Oh, hey, you find any more shit that good." I throw that last bit in to continue covering our involvement in the next step.

"You'll be my first call. Thank you again." John finishes my thought.

I hop back in my car, once they get in the taxi and head back to the hotel. I check the tracker and it's fully operational. One quick phone call to keep Camila in the loop.

"Hello?"

"Part one's done." I tell her before hanging up.

I catch up to John's taxi somewhat before I make the call.

"Yeah." Flaco answers.

"They're getting on the on-ramp now."

"I see them ahead."

We all pull on our masks and we flank the taxi. Tanto gets their attention with a smoke bomb in the front seat. Then a rocket launcher to the trunk flips the car. We skid to a stop and exit our cars. Guns aimed on the car, Tanto grabs the suitcase with the money. Wendle gets a few shots off into Tanto before Flaco puts him down. I go to help Tonto, as we approach the SUV I hear Flaco fire a shot. No idea who he hit, but I need to get Tonto into the SUV. As we try to get his arm over my shoulder, he pulls my mask off. I look back to make sure we aren't going to be gunned down and I see John looking over the overturned car. He sees my face. Recognition dawns and I see him raise a gun to shoot and I fire three shots. They hit, but he it doesn't kill him. John stays down and I move only when I hear sirens. I grab the suitcase and put in the back seat of the SUV that Flaco is getting in.

"James, we have to get outta here." Flaco tells me.

No fucking shit!

I hope back into my car. We rush away from the scene.

My phone rings. It's Teresa. Good. I can give her instructions.

"I'm leaving. I'm gonna let her go."

Or not good! I fill her in on the change of circumstances.

"We have trouble. One of them's alive. He got away. Go back to his hotel room. If he shows up, keep him there."

"Keep him here? What do you mean keep him here?" Really! All morning she has been quiet with her questions. Now she wants to break the silence! And with stupid ones to boot.

"He saw my face. He knows. You do not let him leave. He can't leave." I tell her before hanging up.

My phone rings again. Flaco this time.

"He's bleeding out. I'm trying to stop it, but it just keeps coming. Cops are coming from all sides. I don't know which way to turn. Get me out of here." Flaco is panicking!

"Fourth and Rivers. Take McGregor." He doesn't answer, but I know he is following my orders.

My GPS beeping. Yellow triangles with red exclamation points are popping up everywhere. "They're setting roadblocks on Summet. Hit the expressway. You see it?"

"Yeah. Shit, yeah. We're out, we're out. We're out, we're out."

I hang up.

Before long I'm at the hotel and I see Teresa power walking away. My tires screech as I stop and she sees me.

"Where is he?" I ask before I tell her to "Get in." I move my bag to the back seat as she hops in.

She pulls the gun from her waistband and sits it on the center console.

We pull away and she is silent.

"Are you hurt?" I ask.

No response as she stares out the window. Why is she so quiet?

"Answer me, are you hurt?" I repeat the question telling her I demand an answer,

"No." She continues to stare.

"What happened?"

"I shot him." She tells me simply.

"Is he dead?" I have to know.

She nods. "Yeah."

Silence again and then my phone rings. Camila.

"Yeah?" I sigh my greeting.

"Do you have her?" She asks me quietly.

"I just got her. She's all messed up. We're coming back now." I inform her before ending the call.

I look over my silent companion and I don't know what to say so I give her an order. Comfort is not my strong suit. Giving orders is. "Wipe your face."


End file.
